President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over the gruesome killing of Dr Chike Akunyili, widower of the late Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Dora Akunyili.
The president made his feelings known in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, on Wednesday in Abuja.
He assured the grieving families who lost their loved ones in the incident, that the perpetrators of the heinous act would face both the judgment of man and that of God.
He enjoined security agencies and leaders of thought to work harder to bring an end to the violence being unleashed on innocent Nigerians.
According to him, he has fond memories of working with the late Dora Akunyili at the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) and ”Nigerians will never forget the memory of the amazon, who distinguished herself as a courageous, dependable and patriotic citizen.”
The president said he shared the pain of the offspring of the late Professor and Dr Akunyili, their families and friends ”whose lives will never remain the same after the inhuman and reprehensible act that happened in Onitsha, Anambra State.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Mr Tony Olofu, has vowed that the command, in collaboration with other security agencies, will deal with the killers.
The police commissioner, who spoke while confirming Akunyili’s death, sued for calm and stressed that the perpetrators would be unmasked and “decisively dealt with“.
A statement by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, on Wednesday in Awka said that Olofu visited the scene where Akunyili was killed in Nkpor and two other locations where violent crimes were perpetrated.
Ikenga quoted Olofu as saying that with the way they operated, the gunmen seemed to have lost every iota of human conscience and sensibility in them.
The statement said that about 5 p.m. around the Nkpor Roundabout and without any provocation, some gunmen attacked and shot a police inspector attached to a Very Important Personality (VIP).
“At Afor Nkpor Junction, three unidentified bodies were recovered, a burnt Toyota Hilux and a vandalised Toyota Hummer bus were also seen at the crime scene.
“The lifeless bodies were taken to the hospital and regrettably one of the bodies was identified as one Dr Chike Akunyili”, Ikenga said in the statement.
He said the bandits also beheaded a yet-to-be identified man and thereafter fled the scene of the crime.
The police commissioner expressed regrets at the unfortunate loss of lives and valuables due to those senseless acts.
According to the PPRO, a team of police operatives attached to the Aguata Area Command about 2 p.m. on September 28, while on routine patrol along Ezinifite/Igboukwu Road, was attacked by hoodlums.
He said that the bandits, who rode in an unmarked Sienna vehicle and a Toyota Hummer bus, set the police patrol vehicle ablaze and later fled the scene.
“Similarly, there was a gun attack on a member of the public about 5 p.m. on Oko Road.
“The criminal elements set the vehicle of the victim ablaze, leaving him with a bullet wound and escaped. The victim was rescued and taken to hospital where he is responding to treatment”, he said.
On September 28, some undesirable elements, in an attempt to snatch a Lexus 350 car from its driver on Agulu Road, shot him.
“The attackers abandoned the victim and the car and fled. The victim was immediately rushed to the hospital but was confirmed dead by the doctors on duty.
Also, the Department of State Services (DSS) says it has no hand in the killing of Akunyili.
Dr Peter Afunanya, DSS spokesman, in a statement on Wednesday, described the claim as “spurious and illogical”.
“The attention of the service has been drawn to an allegation that its operatives killed Dr Chike Akunyili.
“It was also alleged that the DSS murdered security escorts at Nkpor, in Anambra, on 28th September, 2021.
“The service hereby denies these allegations and wishes to clearly state that they are spurious and illogical.
“There was no basis for the DSS to kill the medical doctor and/or fellow law enforcement agents. The service cherishes life and believes in the rule of law.
“The public should be wary of the false narratives by those desirous of using it (the Service) to cover up their heinous acts.
“The operations of these hostile elements are already well known in the public space and to the discerning,” he said.
The image maker said that the service and sister agencies would not relent in tracking down those behind the breakdown of law and order so as to bring them to justice.
