Gunmen Kill Traditional Ruler, Five Others in Imo State — Third Royal Father Slain in South-East in Two Months

Gunmen have murdered the traditional ruler of Ochia Community in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State, along with five other individuals, in a brazen Friday afternoon attack that has deepened alarm over the rapidly deteriorating security situation across Nigeria’s South-East geopolitical zone.

The slain monarch, identified as Paulinus Ekwueme, was killed alongside five other victims whose identities had not been established as of the time of this report. The attack, which occurred on Friday, was confirmed by the Imo State Police Command in a statement issued on Saturday by its spokesperson, Deputy Superintendent of Police Henry Okoye.

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According to Okoye, the command received a distress call from the Ohaji Police Division at approximately 4:30 p.m., alerting authorities that the community was under attack. The Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, immediately mobilised and dispatched tactical units to the scene at Assa. Upon arrival, operatives recovered the burnt corpses of the deceased. The remains were subsequently evacuated and deposited at the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Owerri, for preservation and autopsy.

Okoye confirmed that a comprehensive investigation has been launched into the incident and that intensive operations are ongoing to track down the attackers. He also stated that security measures have been reinforced in the area and its environs to prevent a recurrence.

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Commissioner Bosso and members of his management team visited the community personally to reassure residents of the police’s commitment to restoring calm and maintaining a sustained security presence. The commissioner commiserated with the families of the deceased and urged residents to support the investigation by reporting suspicious movements and individuals to law enforcement.

The killing of Paulinus Ekwueme is the third time a traditional ruler has been murdered in the South-East within the space of two months — a grim pattern that underscores the worsening security landscape in the region. The latest attack came just nine days after Josephat Ikegwu, the traditional ruler of Ishinkwo Community in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, was shot dead by gunmen on 1st April. Before that, Francis Igwe, the traditional ruler of Ndufu-Alike in Ikwo LGA of Ebonyi State, was abducted on his way to church and killed, with his body recovered approximately a week later.

The police subsequently arrested nine suspects in connection with the Igwe killing, but the string of attacks on traditional rulers — custodians of community authority and cultural identity has sent shockwaves through South-East communities and raised urgent questions about the adequacy of security arrangements for traditional institutions in the region.