Lawyers in Enugu State, yesterday, gave the state government and the police 48 hours to arrest and bring to book killers of one of their senior colleagues and candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for Enugu East senatorial district, Oyibo Chukwu.
Chukwu and some of his supporters, with him, in his branded campaign Sienna car, were on Wednesday night attacked, killed and set ablaze in the vehicle by yet-to-be identified assailants at Eke-Otu Amechi-Awkunanaw Enugu.
Same Wednesday night at Topland by Ebony Paint Road Amechi Awkunanaw, one of the drivers of the campaign organisation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) House of Representatives candidate for Enugu North/South constituency, Offor Chukwuegbo, identified as KC Great, was reportedly burnt to death when yet-to-be identified persons attacked and set ablaze the campaign vehicle (mini bus) he was driving.
But when the news got to town, the lawyers, under Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Enugu, boycotted the courts to protest the dastardly act and in honour of Chukwu, former chairman of Oji River Bar, one of the branches of NBA in the state.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, said the Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Ammani, has ordered intensified discreet investigations and manhunt for the perpetrators of the heinous crime, just as he had visited the two scenes of the incidents.
But addressing newsmen at the premises of the state High Court, Independent Layout, Enugu, where the lawyers gathered to express their shock and disappointment at the incident, Chairman of Oji River NBA, Seth Nwokolo, claimed the killing of Chukwu, two days to his senatorial election, was not unconnected with politics.
He said: “This is press briefing is called on behalf of the five branches of NBA in Enugu State. We woke up this morning to the news of the gruesome murder of a very senior lawyer, a former chairman of NBA, Oji River branch, Chukwu, who incidentally is a candidate for Enugu East senatorial zone for LP. Just this morning, the news filtered in that he was assassinated with his friends and other of his supporters around Obeagu, Amechi Road in Enugu South Local Government Area.
“We are pained with this news and we want to make it very categorical to the authorities, the commissioner of police in Enugu and Enugu State government, to ensure the killers, the perpetrators of this very heinous crime should be brought to book.
“We are giving them 48 hours to ensure the killers of Chukwu are brought to book. The Bar in Enugu is embittered with this development. Today, we have boycotted court sittings, the courts in Enugu are not sitting even though have started but when this news came they were informed and many of them rose, because an injury to one is an injury to all.
“What I know is that the death of Chukwu is politically motivate, that is what we can say at this point even though investigation has not commenced but at due time, we will be able to know who and who are behind this death.”
Charles Nwagbara of NBA Enugu branch said the assassination of Chukwu was an unfortunate incident to the Bar, noting that members were grieved as the incident should not have happened in the first place.
Nwagbara, who said he would not attribute the incident to political killing because he had no proof yet, however, said: “Our concern is that if this has happened to Chukwu, who knows who next? So, we are calling on government and security agencies to rise to the occasion. We are not saying this because a lawyer has died, we are saying this because there have been serial killings in Enugu State.
“I think what has happened is that the insecurity in Enugu State has been left to be loose over the time and the killers and these criminals got emboldened and are trying to stop us or discourage us from having our elections.”
Chairman of NBA Ezeagu branch, Chijioke Eze, in his contribution said: “The incident that occurred, coming barely 72 hours before the election is very painful, very pathetic and does not speak well of our electoral process. That, in Nigeria, people now go through the buying of the gun instead of going through the ballot boxes.
“I feel pained, deeply pained knowing the victim, and in Enugu State, we thought we are now far from the days when we used to witness this type of gruesome murder but coming at this time, is a very painful one.”