The assassination of Mr. Nnaemeka Ugboma, a judge for a customary court, on Thursday while he presided over a case has been verified by the Imo Police Command.
The event was reported to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Owerri on Friday by the state’s police public relations officer, ASP Henry Okoye.
According to Okoye, the event took place in the state’s Oguta Local Government Area at Ejemekwuru, which is part of the Obudi-Agwa Division.
He declared that a manhunt for the attackers had been launched by the command.
He declared, “We have started an investigation to track out the criminals and bring them to justice.”
Under the condition of anonymity, a trustworthy source told NAN that the shooters entered the courthouse, dragged the defendant outside, shot him in the head, and then took off.
The insider added that “he was ready to rise for the day when the incident occurred.”
NAN discovered that a few troops arrived on the scene quickly and transported the man to the Federal Medical Centre in Owerri, where a doctor reportedly confirmed his demise.
The insider added that a commercial minibus was used by the attackers to travel to the scene.
According to NAN, the brutal murder of the 55-year-old Customary Court Chairman took on a new dimension as a result of the way in which it was carried out.
It also stoked new worries about the state’s vulnerable security posture.
Christian Ihim, the APC Chairman, was shot and killed by gunmen on January 24 in Okwe’s Umuchoke ward in the state’s Onuimo Local Government Area, according to NAN.
According to reports, the attackers also took five additional party chieftains from the neighborhood.
Earlier on January 19, gunmen attacked and abducted Christopher Ohizu, the sole administrator of Ideato North Local Government Area.
Along with two other people, Ohizu was taken hostage at his Arondizuogu home, where the gunmen also destroyed his home and his vehicles.
Additionally, on December 15, 2022, the assailants burned down the home of Christopher Elehu, a Labour Party candidate for the Onuimo State Constituency.
Gunmen stormed a police checkpoint at Ihitte Junction on the Owerri-Aba Road, Owerri, two weeks ago. Chinyere Obialor, a female police sergeant, was killed in the gunfight.
The death, according to Mr. Ugochukwu Alinnor, state chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, was “unjustified and alien to us as a people.
“It is, to put it mildly, insane.
Alinnor declared that “desperate times call for desperate methods.”
Additionally, Mr. Chukwurah Onuorah, the association’s state secretary, denounced the occurrence and said that Ugboma’s murder represented the state’s highest point of insecurity.
“A court is a site we regard as sacrosanct, just as we regard the Church or the temple,” Onuorah remarked.
“A priest rule over the court, and the priest is there to administer justice.
“Someone who was seeking justice now experienced injustice due to the weak system in the nation,”
