Gunmen Abduct, Kill Anambra Lawyer

Some yet-to-be-identified gunmen have allegedly abducted and killed an Nnewi, Anambra State-based lawyer, Jude Oguejiofor. The gunmen were said to have invaded his home at about 1am in Orsumogu community in Ihiala Local Government Area, while shooting in the air to whisk him away together with his younger brother, a medical doctor. PUNCH Metro learnt on Monday that Oguejiofor who hailed from Orsumoghu in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra, lived in Nnewi in Nnewi North Local Government Area of the state. He had contested the Ihiala Federal Constituency House of Representatives seat in the 2023 general election under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

A family source who craved anonymity, who confirmed the incident to journalists in Monday, said it happened in the last week of January when the lawyer returned home to see his aged father in company with his brother. The source said while the younger brother was released the following day, the hoodlums held on to the lawyer giving the excuse that they were investigating him because they learnt he leaked information about their activities to the state government. He said, “I normally followed Jude home to visit his parents and he had never had any issue with the gunmen in their community. In fact, whenever I accompanied him home, they would search me, but would not search Jude. “When he went home with his brother who just bought a new Lexus Jeep, he didn’t have any issue with anybody until we heard that the two of them had been abducted. “The gunmen later released his brother and kept him on the allegation that he has been writing petitions to the Anambra State government on their activities. They however promised that he would be released as soon as they complete their investigations.

He said they later contacted the family a few days after and told them to forget about the legal practitioner and that he had been killed. “On Sunday, we heard that his father collapsed and died immediately on hearing the news of the incident after the gunmen contacted the family and informed them that they had killed the lawyer.”

However, when contacted on the development, the Anambra State police spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, could not confirm the incident, as he said he was in a meeting. Ihiala, a border town between Anambra and Imo states, is among the areas in worst hit by insecurity in the South-East.

Source: Punch