Politics
2023 Elections: Gunmen in Enugu kill a senatorial candidate for the Labour Party
Oyibo Chukwu, a senatorial candidate for the Labour Party (LP), and his personal aide were shot and killed. They were from Enugu East.
In a statement released early on Thursday, Daniel Ndukwu, spokesman for the Enugu Police Command, confirmed the development.
He said that on Wednesday, Chukwu’s campaign car was attacked and set ablaze by thugs riding in a Hilux vehicle.
The Labour Party’s senatorial candidate for the Enugu East Senatorial District, Barr. Oyibo Chukwu (male), and his personal assistant (male), who were in the vehicle, were burned to death, according to the spokesman. They “attacked and set ablaze the campaign vehicle of the Labour Party at Eke-Otu Amechi-Awkunanaw Enugu.
At Eke, Agbani, Nkanu West LGA, the miscreants attempted to attack the convoy of the All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship candidate, but they were thwarted by security personnel.
Several PDP members were also killed during the incident, and Uche Nnaji’s convoy, who is running for governor of Enugu State in the All Progressive Congress (APC), was also hit.
In a statement, the PDP claimed that “early investigations into the incidents show that the armed hoodlums, operating in a tricycle, attacked a PDP campaign Mini Bus at Topland by Ebony Paint Road, Amechi-Awkunanaw Enugu and used petrol bomb to set it ablaze, killing its driver, simply identified as one KC Great (male).”
Ahmed Ammani, the commissioner of the Enugu State Police, attended the scene of the attack and immediately launched an investigation.
The Commissioner has expressed sympathy to the parties and family members of the deceased while vehemently denouncing the barbaric deeds and promising to see to it that those responsible are apprehended and subjected to the full force of the law. Ndukwe tacked on.
He cited the Commissioner as affirming the police’s and other security forces’ commitment to fair elections and urging the populace to resist “cowardly antics of the hoodlums” that instill fear.