The Imo State Police Command has confirmed the killing of the traditional ruler of Otulu Amumara Autonomous Community in the Ezinihitte-Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State, Joe Ochulor, by gunmen.

The spokesperson of the command, Henry Okoye, in a statement released on Monday, said gunmen kidnapped the traditional ruler on November 25, 2023, stressing his lifeless body was found less than 24 hours later along Mbutu Community road, in the Aboh-Mbaise Local Government Area.

According to the statement, the Commissioner of Police, Danjuma Aboki, condemned in strong terms the unfortunate incident, vowing that the command would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the perpetrators of the heinous crime are arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.

The police commissioner subsequently set up an investigating team to clamp down on the perpetrators of the heinous crime.

He called on the public to remain calm and cooperate with the police by providing useful information that may assist in apprehending the suspects.

Ochulor’s death comes just a few days after the ward chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Ife/ Akpodim/Chokoneze Ward in the same Ezinihitte Mbaise LGA, Chiedoziem Anyanwu, was assassinated in the presence of his wife.

The gunmen had arrived and demanded to see him.

Upon confirming that he was the one they were looking for, they shot him and confirmed that he was dead before they left the scene.