The herdsmen shot the INEC staff on the head through the windshield of his car and used a knife to slice the throat of the second victim in his farm.
By Emma Ogbuehi
Gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen on Sunday went on the rampage in Ivo Local government area of Ebonyi State, killing two persons in Ishiagu community.
One of those killed is Mr. Ajah Okafor, father of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth wing chieftain, Damian Okafor.
The other person killed, it was gathered, is a staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Emmanuel Igwe.
His wife was also reportedly kidnapped by the gunmen who intercepted their car along the Ishiagu-Mpu road in the area.
Ishiagu is a border community and a gateway to Abia and Enugu States. Mpu in Enugu State and Lokpanta in Abia are its neighbours.
Damian confirmed the killing of his father to The Nation.
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He said the gunmen, after attacking the couple, took the woman into the bush.
He alleged that the attackers were herdsmen who have been terrorising the area.
“In their bid to escape they ran into my father who was in his farm tending to his crops. They proceeded to kill my father so that he will not raise alarm and expose their presence in the area,” he said.
Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in Ebonyi State also confirmed the death and kidnap of the INEC staff and wife.
She said: “One of our colleagues, an Assistant Electoral Officer in Afikpo North LGA, Emmanuel Igwe, was shot to death by gunmen in Ivo on his way back from Abia State and his wife kidnapped.”
Ebonyi Police spokesperson Onome Onvwakpoyeya confirmed the incident.
She said the gunmen suspected to be herdsmen shot the man on the head through the windshield of his car.
She said the gunmen used a knife to slice the throat of the second victim in his farm.
Despite the exit of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the menace of gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen is yet to abate.
