Gunmen suspected to be militants of the Indigenous People of Biafra have killed Prof I.O. Onyemelukwe.
The now late professor of Economics is said to be the father of Dr Cheluchi Onyemelukwe, winner of the Nigeria prize for Literature, 2021.
The attack took place on Thursday night by gunmen in Oko, Orumba South Local Government Area, where they blocked vehicles coming from Umunze, Ufuma, into Oko.
Sources told Daily Post that the gunmen killed an unidentified old man in the less than one hour operation, while abducting two men, who were said to have been unable to answer questions about the self-determination struggle of the IPOB.
But a social media user, who simple goes by the name Onyi, has identified the slain man as Prof Onyemelukwe.
Onyii in a post said, “South-East is indeed going down. Just lost my godfather to the hands of the marauding killers devastating the South-East environment.
“An 88-year-old man, first class brain, Prof I.O. Onyemelukwe. He was the former permanent secretary in the old Anambra State. Later a professor of Economics at UNIZIK.
“He studied Economics with OAU scholarship at Adis Ababa, Ethiopia at the age of 22. He is the father of Dr Cheluchi Onyemelukwe that won LNG $100,000 literature prize last year.
“He was returning to Nanka from Enugu with his wife and decided to follow Oji, Ufuma, Amaokpala, Oko axis instead going through Awka when he was attacked by the hoodlums. He is the cousin of the former Bishop on the Niger, Bishop J.A. Onyemelukwe. “May his soul rest in peace. Amen!”
