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As heartbreaking and condemnable as the broad daylight and gruesome assassination on Wednesday, 22 February 2023, of one of Nkanu’s finest lawyers and politicians, Barr. Oyibo Chukwu, a native of Amurri in Nkanu-West, along Amechi road, Awkunanaw, Enugu South LGA, while coming back from one of his numerous campaign tours in the build-up to the Enugu East senatorial district election formerly scheduled for Saturday, 25th of February, 2023, it’s rather sad, smacks disdain and insensitivity of a disproportionate degree for some individuals close to the deceased, perhaps, to score cheap political points, kept engaging in a campaign of calumny and mudslinging, throwing shades of all sorts and pointing accusing fingers at the person of His Excellency, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani, the founder and leader of the Ebeano political group and the senator representing Enugu East senatorial district, for being responsible for the death of Oyibo Chukwu.

To me, and to be fair, those media attacks on Chimaroke, do not show any form of emotional intelligence by the proponents, it lacks the expected aura of submissiveness to the manifestation of the will of the Almighty God over the living and even the dead. Those sponsoring and publicising such publications have thus far exhibited their academic ineptitude by allowing such diatribes to be churned out from their end and into the media space without recourse to any concrete evidence to support their claims.

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Applying common sense, Oyibo, with his Personal Assistant’s horrible assassination could not have been callously but smoothly masterminded by Chimaroke as alleged, such that at the same time, he had his party -PDP, attacked, with a member shot dead and immediately set ablaze in a PDP campaign vehicle almost at the same place as Oyibo, his Assistant and co were maimed. Onlookers narrated that it also took the grace of God for the APC guber candidate, Uche Nnaji, to escape the same attackers, in the course of which he had his vehicle dotted with bullet dents and punctured tyres earlier in the same evening.

Was it also a set-up or a coincidence that the same Chimaroke had one of his trusted lieutenants, Mr Ifeanyi Edeh, inflicted with heavy bullet wounds by the same set of attackers that kept rampaging on the road from Akpugo to Agbani and up to Amechi? How could Chimaroke have perfected all these series of high-profile attacks that lasted for less than 45 minutes only to have Barr Oyibo Chukwu slaughtered? What could be his target which he has not achieved in life? Why has Uche Nnaji of APC not accused Chimaroke of attempting to assassinate him after surviving the holocaust? Does his own life not matter too?

The shocking truth is a few other shallow-minded persons who are in support of such publications and unguarded utterances, are leveraging the massive support enjoyed by Peter Obi with the Labour Party, to create more political tension in Nkanu land by whipping up sentiments in the guise of mourning. They seem to have allowed primordial sensitivities to becloud their sense of perfect judgement, hence, unaware of when to accuse based on verifiable reasons and not wriggle around baseless figments. This situation can rightly be described as desperation taken too far and should be avoided going forward.

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Instead of unnecessarily flaring the embers of disunity by apportioning blames and wrongfully accusing a presumably innocent Chimaroke Nnamani, let the family, no matter how heavy-hearted they are, understandably though, allow Oyibo’s spirit a smooth passage unto peaceful repose in the bosom of his maker, and not to yield to the temptation of spreading all manner of needless conspiracy theory and vituperations.

As Nkanu, Enugu State and Nigeria are still mourning the sudden death of Oyibo Chukwu, and irrespective of whatever ideological or political differences we have harboured thus far, the already tensed Nkanu political landscape should be managed more carefully for us to have a very peaceful senatorial and gubernatorial elections. It will be costly and regrettable if our coexistence along with our differences is allowed to be strained further by our greed and thoughtlessness at this point.

If there is any concrete evidence that suggests the involvement of Senator Nnamani or anyone, the relevant authority should be directed to that as a clue while trailing the assailants and unravelling other circumstances thereto. No one is above the law and as such, anyone found culpable will go in.

Casting aspersions and engaging in smear campaigns against Chimaroke, will not stop him from leading if he is chosen by the people in one of the upcoming elections. All power belongs to God.

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May the soul of Oyibo Chukwu continue to rest in peace.

Ngwu Sampson writes from Umu-ene-nta, Obe.