Nigerians Express Outrage Over Murder Of INEC Official In Imo, Accuse IPOB Of involvement

  Nigerians Express Outrage Over Murder Of INEC Official In Imo, Accuse IPOB Of involvement

There is an outpouring of condemnation and anger from Nigerians in Twitter for the murder of an officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Anthony Nwokorie, by gunmen.

On Thursday, armed men attacked a polling unit where the continuous voter registration exercise was taking place in Ihitte Uboma local government area of ​​Imo state and destroyed the materials used for the exercise.

A video clip of the attack, which has now gone viral, shows the gunmen firing multiple shots at one of the people forced to lie down by the gunmen, believed to be INEC official Mr. Nwokorie.

The commission has confirmed the death of the official and consequently suspended the exercise in the area.

During the attack, as seen in the video, the gunmen mocked officials and residents at the registration center for conducting the election preparation exercise while they (the gunmen) were fighting to free themselves from Nigeria.

But in reaction, renowned Nigerian civil rights activist and lawyer, Chidi Odinkalu, said the group cannot claim to be freeing anyone by attacking and killing INEC officials who are simply doing their job.

“Those who attack, shoot and kill @inecnigeria ad-hoc staff simply for doing their job cannot claim to be freeing anyone,” he posted on his post. twitter handle on Friday.

“They and their supporters are selling death and destruction and deserve the strongest possible condemnation,” added Mr. Odinkalu, an indigenous man from Orlu in Imo state.

For his part, Shehu Sani, a former Nigerian senator, described the attack as “an act of criminality.” The former lawmaker said the unfortunate incident should not “instill fear” in Nigerians, but “rather galvanize collective outrage and defiance” against the gunmen.

“The attack on the INEC registration center and the killing of INEC staff by those ‘armed terrorists’ in Imo state is reprehensible,” Sani said. tweeted.

IPOB signaled in the attack

While some Nigerians condemn the attack, others accuse the outlaw Biafran Indigenous People (IPOB) to perform the attack.

A Twitter user, Demagogue (@von_Bismack), whose profile indicated that he comes from Imo state, wrote: “I just saw how IPOB members executed an Igbo person (in) execution style, shooting him directly while he was lying down.” .

The tweet was apparently a reaction to the video clip of the attack in which the gunmen shot an INEC official.

“This is an open declaration of war against my people and I have sided with my people,” the user added.

Another Twitter user, Austin, insisted that IPOB carried out the attack. He said that although he was part of the group’s agitation, the murder of the INEC official forced him to withdraw his participation in the action.

“Did you see the video where people lying down were shot by their fellow Igbos? IPOB my foot. I was an agitator, but after seeing that video, I’m not (still an agitator) anymore,” Austin tweeted.

For Aku N’esi Obi Ike, another user (@Akudinanwa117), supporting IPOB was his “biggest regret”.

“Can’t believe I was once an avid fan of the terrorist group,” the user posted. “IPOB members are the real enemies of Ndigbo. They should be ostracized from the entire region.”

However, in response to the accusation, the separatist group denied its involvement in the attack to INEC officials and insisted that they “have nothing to do with the criminal act that criminals randomly carry out against our people.”

Emma Powerful, a spokeswoman for the group, in a statement on Friday, lamented that “some uninformed people are pointing the finger of blame at IPOB.”

Powerful said that IPOB would expose those behind the attacks in the region.

He said the group cannot afford to allow “armed men to terrorize” people in the region or “demonize their peaceful organization.”

IPOB is leading the agitation for the creation of an independent state of Biafra which they want to separate from the south-east and some parts of the south-south regions of Nigeria.

The separatist group has been accused of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the two regions, but has repeatedly denied involvement in the attacks.