By Adadareporters
Barr Oyibo Chukwu, the slain senatorial candidate of the Labour for Enugu East zone, was killed as a result of hatred.
Former chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Enugu State, Dr Ben Nwoye, stated this in Enugu during a programme monitored by our reporter.
Recall that Oyibo was killed on Feb 22, 2023, two days to the 2023 senatorial election, by yet-to-be-identified assassins. His brother, Kevin, later became LP’s standard-bearer, and won the election.
Speaking ahead of today’s burial of the human rights activist, who hailed from Nkanu, Nwoye said, “Barr Chukwu was killed in a political clime. If those that killed him knew who he was, they would not have engaged in that job. They would have understood that Oyibo would have been the one fighting for them. The amount of money they might have been paid would not have been sufficient to what Oyibo would have brought.”
Inferring to the inferiority-cum-superiority dichotomy in some parts of Nkanu land, Nwoye said, “We are still at the primitive stage where some see differences between those who believe they are better than others; they call themselves untouchable. Some believe in Amadi, Osu, Odenigbo or whatever accidents of birth, and decide to take another’s life.
“They organised people to kill him in the most inhuman form. It was not enough to empty a full catridge of bullets on his chest and head, they went ahead to fire bullets into the tank he was in, and made it explode into a big ball of fire. They did the same to his PA who was driving him.”
Nwoye said it was regrettable that nothing has been done by relevant bodies to arrest his killers.
In his words, “Oyibo was a legal adviser to Ohanaeze Ndigbo. What has Ohanaeze done in pushing the question of who killed him? This task also goes to the Bar. The question of who killed Oyibo is a societal issue. It is still a mystery on who killed Oyibo Chukwu. Has the Bar petitioned the Senate? If the police and the DSS fail to investigate his murder, how about the journalists? How about the Senate? Someone talked about an inquest. Why can’t the Bar petition to have a public hearing on his murder?
“Martin Luther King was killed, and the Civil Rights Bill was signed into law. There is hatred in Nigeria, and not just in Nkanu land. People die because of their religions, tribes or birth.
“People knew that Oyibo Chukwu was coasting to victory to become a senator. There was a conspiracy by the same institution that was supposed to protect him. You hear that on the day he was killed, all the security checkpoints on the axis he was murdered were removed. Who removed them? This matter should move to the National Assembly.”
