PANIC and grief gripped Ondo village in Ugboju District of Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State after prominent All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Ejeh Udeh, was brutally gunned down at his residence late Sunday night.
According to eyewitnesses, the chilling attack occurred around 11:00pm, when assailants suspected to be hired killers stormed Udeh’s home on motorcycles.
“They surrounded him and shot him multiple times at close range. It was horrifying,” a resident told News Point Nigeria. “His body was later taken to a morgue in Otukpo.”
The killing has thrown Ugboju and the entire Otukpo axis into deep mourning. Residents described the late Udeh as a respected political leader and brother to a former Otukpo Local Government chairman, widely regarded as an influential voice in Idoma politics.
Simon, a local farmer, said the entire community has been gripped by fear: “Ogobia is like a ghost town right now. People are staying indoors. Some of us tried to go to the farm this morning but we were chased back home. Everyone is scared.”
Confirming the assassination, Otukpo Local Government Chairman, Maxwell Ogiri, told journalists in Makurdi that Udeh was deliberately targeted by his killers.
“Yes, Hon. Ejeh Ude was murdered in cold blood. We do not yet know the motive whether remote or immediate. But from what we have seen, they were determined.
“They followed him home after he returned from an outing with friends. He parked his car, went into his house, and they struck, firing at him until they were sure he was dead,” Ogiri said.
The chairman, who visited the scene with the Department of State Services (DSS) boss and other security chiefs, assured that an investigation is underway and promised that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
“The gruesome murder of Ejeh has cast a dark shadow on our community. He was a well-known figure, an opinion moulder, and a chieftain of the APC. Like it is often said, a single soul killed in cold blood is more painful than tens killed in a pogrom. This is one of such painful deaths,” Ogiri added.
As of press time, the Benue State Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Udeme Edet, said she was yet to receive a detailed report on the assassination.
