BREAKING: Gunmen kill PDP House of Reps candidate in Anambra, father faints, dies

By Our correspondent

Gunmen have killed the 2023 House of Representatives candidate from Anambra State, Jude Oguejiofor.

Mr Oguejiofor hailed from Orsumoghu in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra but lived in Nnewi in Nnewi North Local Government Area of the state.

Oguejiofor, a lawyer, contested for the Ihiala Federal Constituency House of Representatives seat in the 2023 general elections under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Sources told our correspondent that the politician was abducted around 1 a.m, some days back, alongside his brother by some gunmen.

The incident happened in the Orsumoghu Community where they had gone to see their aged parents.

But the gunmen later released his brother unhurt.

The brother is a medical doctor who recently came back from a foreign country.

A source close to the family, who asked not to be named, told this newspaper that the gunmen accused Mr Oguejiofor of writing petitions against them and their activities in the community.

“They said he had been writing petitions against them to the Anambra State Government,” the source said.

Meanwhile, the source said Mr Oguejiofor’s father fainted and died on Thursday when the gunmen contacted the family and informed them that they had killed the politician.

A lawyer( name withheld) told this newspaper that Oguejiofor could have avoided his community given that he had been vocal about the rising attacks by gunmen in the area.

The lawyer hails from Orsu-Ihiteukwa, a community in Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State which shares a boundary with Oguejiofor’s community.

“His (Oguejiofor’s) community is very volatile. The community is virtually run down and taken over by these criminals who say they are agitating for freedom,” he said.

When contacted on Monday, a reliable police source in Anambra State told our correspondent that he had no information on the incident.

Like other states in Nigeria’s south-east, security has deteriorated in Anambra State, with frequent attacks by armed persons.

Ihiala is among the council areas in Anambra State worst hit by insecurity.

The attacks often target security agencies, government officials, and facilities.

The Nigerian government has accused the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region.

However, the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.