Unidentified gunmen suspected to be assassins in the early hours of Friday murdered the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State, Chief Sunny Ejiagwu.

Ejiagwu, popularly known as Ohaneze was one of the 27 LGA chairmen inaugurated on Monday by the new state chairman of the party, Daniel Nwafor following the rescheduled election in the state as ordered by a court.

Confirming the incident, the state Commissioner of Police, Dasuki Galandanchi told reporters  that Ejiagwu, whose corpse had been evacuated to a nearby mortuary, was killed along  Akokwa Road in  Ideato North.

“The APC chairman in Ideato North has been murdered. I was at the scene of the crime and only came back. His corpse has been evacuated to a mortuary. There is no preliminary suspicion but the investigator would find out.  The blood of the innocent would expose them,” Galandanchi said.

The Imo State APC chairman, while briefing newsmen at the state party secretariat, condemned the act, saying such political killings and violence had no place in a democracy.

“The killing is condemnable because APC preaches peace and political tolerance. People should practice politics without bitterness and violence. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees freedom of association.

“We, therefore, call on the Inspector General of Police to press on the Commissioner of Police to nab the culprits. Imo is a peaceful state and an example of how politics should be played.

“The deceased was in our meeting on Thursday and he expressed concern about political violence in his area. He told us that his area is volatile and called on us to come to his rescue when the need arises.

“From the information made available to me, he was double-crossed and when he tried to move back he fell into the gutter. His killers went there and shot him severely,” Nwafor lamented.