GUNMEN in Enugu State assassinated an aspirant for the Isi-Uzo Local Government Area chairmanship office, Ejike Ugwueze, on Friday, June 7, in what many people familiar with the killing described as a ploy to stop him from winning the election slated for October this year.
His death came four years after his brother, Chijioke Ugwueze, died while serving as a lawmaker in the state.
The late Ugwueze was killed while driving through Neke Odenigbo, a community in the Enugu East Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
According to a PREMIUM TIMES report, his assailants blocked his vehicle and shot him multiple times before fleeing.
A video showing Ugwueze in his lifeless state shortly after the shooting has been circulated on social media platforms since Friday.
His death is widely believed to be politically motivated, as the council election will be held barely four months from now.
The police confirmed the killing on Saturday, June 8 and said it had commenced investigations into it.
On June 19, 2020, Ugwueze’s elder brother Chijioke died after a brief illness.
The recently assassinated brother had told journalists that the older sibling died of heart failure, describing it as a shocking and painful loss.
He also said the death was made more painful by the fact that they had recently lost their father and had yet to bury him.
“We, the family members, are confused on where to start from because my brother died when we were still planning on how to bury our father, who is still in the mortuary and now Chijioke has joined him,” Ugwueze was quoted as saying.
After the lawmaker’s death, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which both brothers belonged to, fielded his wife Amaka Ugwueze as their candidate in a bye-election organised to replace the deceased.
She emerged victorious in the by-election and assumed her husband’s position in the Enugu State House of Assembly.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.