No fewer than seven Presidents-General of various communities in Anambra State have been assassinated in the past seven years: from 2017 to 2024.
This revelation was according to statistics issued by the Anambra State Association of Town Union (ASATU) during a press conference in Awka weekend.
The murder last Friday of the President General of Umuoji, Chief Silas Onyima, swelled the list of the Presidents-General who faced gruesome death in the hands of faceless assailants.
Others include, Chief Anthony Igboka, the President General of Nimo in Njikoka Local Government Area of the state, who was gruesomely murdered in April 2019.
Mr. Julius Chinwuba, the President General of Orom Etiti in Anambra West Area, was killed November 15, 2017.
Chinwuba was the Secretary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the area.
He was clubbed to death tied in the hands and legs and thrown into the River Niger and his body reportedly floated on November 17, 2017.
Chief Ike Okolo, the erstwhile President General of Obosi Community in the same Idemili North LGA, was murdered in his car in January 2023.
In October 2021, Chief Paul Chinedu, President General of Nanka Community in Orumba North LGA, was murdered in the presence of his wife and children.
Also in March of 2021, Francis Onwuachi, the President General of Omor Community, was abducted and murdered. Until his death, Onwuachi was the chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Onitsha branch,
Reacting to the development over the weekend, ASATU decried the situation.
ASATU National President, Titus Akpudo, a lawyer, said ASATU would no longer sit back and watch its members being humiliated and killed without any form of provocation, other than they are leaders of their communities.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Tochukwu Ikenga, had confirmed the killing of Onyima, saying that investigation was ongoing to uncover the circumstances surrounding the death and the identity of the perpetrators.
Ikenga said: “No arrest had been made, investigation is ongoing and we are working with the locals.
“Our men have been deployed to the area and we are by this medium calling on the people of the community to stay calm as we are on top of the situation.”