By Gabriel Atumeyi
365Daily – The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has denied any involvement in the killing of Dr. Chike Akunyili, the husband of late former Director General of NAFDAC, Dora Akunyili, saying the murder is purely political and possibly orchestrated by the same people who killed his wife.
365Daily had earlier reported that Chike Akunyili, was murdered by unknown gunmen in Umuoji, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State on Tuesday evening on his way back from an event in Onitsha in honour of his late wife.
According to IPOB, it does not even know Mr Akunyili and that the perpetrators should stop hiding under the name and banner of IPOB.
In a statement on Wednesday by its Director of Media and Publicity, Emma Powerful, IPOB said Akunyili’s murder is part of a series of political assassinations currently going on in Anambra state in the lead up to the forthcoming November 6 governorship election.
The group also call on the public to disregard the alleged statement from it saying the November 6 governorship election would not take place as scheduled, adding that it was yet to make any declaration in that regard.
The statement read in part, “We the great family of the Indigenous People of Biafra ably led by our great leader Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukkwu Kanu, wish to dissociate ourselves from the senseless killing of innocent citizens in Anambra State. We have no hands in the political killings going on in Biafra land. We have at several times raised the alarm that some cruel politicians are hiding under the cloak of the situation in Biafra land to eliminate their political enemies and blame it on IPOB.
“We also wish to clarify that IPOB has never issued an official statement that there would be no governorship election in Anambra State. Those peddling such rumour are not our members and should be ignored. Our position on the Anambra election will be made public at the right time through our normal channels of information dissemination. Anything to the contrary should be disregarded..
“Those who killed Dora Akunyili husband killed his wife with poison because she exposed the death of Yar’Adua for Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to take over as President of Nigeria, they know themselves, they conspired to poison Prof. Dora Akunyili.”
“We have no issues with Chike Akunyili and we don’t know him, those behind this act must stop this and stop using IPOB’s name, we don’t want anybody to blame IPOB because we must get them, this is purely a political assassination going on in Anambra State now.
“It is obvious that those that burnt Anambra Government House and other parts of the state some years back are back to use intimidations and killings to subdue their opponents ahead of the governorship election in Anambra State.”