Condemnations continued to trail the gruesome murder of the Sole Administrator of Ideato North local government area, Chris Ahizu by unknown gunmen.
Both Imo state government and Igbo National Council (INC) are saddened by the cruel murder of the local government boss.
In a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hon Declan Mbadiwe Emelumba, Tuesday, the state government said, “the chilling assassination of Mr. Ahizu in cold blood is as benumbing as it is callous.
Also read: Ikonso’s Killing Ruffles Security Situation In South East
“This killing falls in line with the targeting of members of the ruling APC, government officials and their friends. Those previously murdered in cold blood included Hon. Mrs Jenny Rachael Okonkwo (Iron Lady), Orlu APC LGA woman leader, Nze Chidi Ejiaka, Barr Darlington Odume, Nze Nwachukwu Igboayaka, Mrs Helen Nnakwe, Collins Okey Agah, Chukwudi Dimagwu Eddy Ofuefule, all APC chieftains from Orlu and many others as well as Emma Mazi, former IMC chairman of Oguta LGA.”
“It is unfortunate that even those who are quick to shout over insecurity in the state never found their voices to condemn these cold blooded killings in the past and are not saying anything also on the latest killing. Be that as it may, Government condemns this cold blooded murder on a Sunday and appeals to the perpetrators of the dastardly act and their sponsors to resist the temptation of going ahead with this blood-letting which has plunged the state into the current state of uncertainty.
“While Government condoles with the family of the deceased, it has charged the security agencies to leave no stone unturned in finding those behind the killing and bringing them to book. In the same vein, government will continue to collaborate with security agencies to ensure the safety of lives and property in the state,” Emelumba assured.
Similarly, the Igbo National Council has condemned the gruesome murder of the Sole Administrator of Ideato North Local Government Area, Mr. Ohizu, on Sunday by his abductors.
INC President Chilos Godsent who condemned the incident in a statement he released to newsmen in Owerri on Tuesday urged state governor Hope Uzodinma to declare a state of emergency on insecurity in the state and set up a robust security outfit to checkmate further incidents.
“Consequent upon the above, the Igbo National Council (INC) hereby call on the Government of Imo State led by Senator Hope Uzodinma to immediately declare a State of Emergency on the rapidly growing Insecurity in the state by mandating every Autonomous Community in Imo State to set up a functional Community Vigilante Security Outfit that will be used as a mechanism for intelligence gatherings and neutralisation of planned crimes and attacks.
“We also recommend that the volunteers to the Proposed Community Vigilante Security Outfit should be well trained on Early Warning, Early Responses and combat operations,” Godsent stated.
How Gunmen behead Imo local govt boss
The unknown gunmen beheaded the Sole Administrator of the Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State, Christopher Ohizu.
The victim, Christopher Ohizu, was abducted last Friday alongside two others when the gunmen attacked him and set his residence ablaze.
Mr Ohizu hailed from Imoko, a community in the council area of the state.
The hoodlums beheaded the victim after his family reportedly paid N6 million as ransom to them.
Sources said the gunmen were attacking those backing the conduct of the 2023 elections in the South-east.
It was not clear when the gunmen killed the administrator, but a video clip showing him being beheaded has been circulating on WhatsApp groups since Sunday.
“They (gunmen) posted the video (clip) of his beheading with his phone on his WhatsApp status. This was how people got to know that he had been beheaded,” a source, who asked not to be named, said.
In the clip, the gunmen, who claimed to be Biafra agitators, tied the victims’ hands at the back, muttered some threats before beheading him.
“We are not the Eastern Security Network (ESN). We are not Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). We are fighting to gain our freedom and there will be no election in the South-east,” one of the gunmen was heard speaking in the background of the clip.
The police spokesperson in Imo State, Henry Okoye, has confirmed the incident but did not give details.
“Investigation is ongoing,” said Mr Okoye, an assistant superintendent of police.
IPOB, an outlawed group and its militant wing, ESN, agitating for an independent state of Biafra from the South-east and some parts of South-south, have been accused of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the two regions.
