SUSPECTED herdsmen have slaughtered the father of the Ohaneze Ndigbo youth chairman, Aja Okeafor, on his farm in Ebonyi State.
The suspects had fled into a nearby bush along the Ishiagu-Mpu road after allegedly killing an INEC staff member and kidnapping his wife.
Demian Okeafor, leader of Ohaneze Ndigbo youth, shared this information during a telephone interview with journalists in Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State.
He recounted, “I was at home after church service when I received a call that my father had been murdered by suspected herdsmen. I tried to rush there but couldn’t make it in time. Later, I went to the police station with my younger brother, who was already on-site, and it was confirmed.”
“There was an attack on the Ishiagu-Mpu road, which leads to the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway. The attackers shot an INEC staff and kidnapped his wife before fleeing into the nearby bush. While in the bush, they encountered my father, who was planting yams on his farm. In order to prevent my father from disclosing their location, they brutally dismembered him. It was a horrific sight, and I was unable to drive. Today, I went to the mortuary to confirm it myself.”
“We urgently need the government’s assistance because we are helpless. The latest information we have received is that three deaths were recorded during the attack: the INEC staff, my father, and another man from the Akaeze community.”
Confirming the incident, Emmanuel Ajah, the Chairman of Ivo Local Government Area, stated that he was notified when the incident occurred.
He immediately mobilized his men and security operatives, who conducted a thorough search of the bush and discovered that the father of the Ohaneze youth leader, Demian Okeafor, had been brutally killed by the suspected Fulani herders.
Ajah explained, “After killing the INEC staff, the Fulani herders dragged his wife into the bush. While entering the bush, they encountered this elderly man on his farmland. They struck him on the head with an Indian bamboo stick and then used a knife to cut him up like a cow.”
The council chairman, Ajah, further mentioned that he had mobilized the military, police, and his team to comb the bush in search of the abducted INEC staff. He assured the public that they would not rest until the woman was safely rescued.
He also revealed that the suspected Fulani herders, who had allegedly abducted the woman, were demanding a large ransom. He emphasized that the security agencies, along with his team, were diligently working to rescue the woman unharmed.
