Chairman of the People Democratic Party, Hon. Smith Chiedoziem Anyanwu, for the Ife/Akpodim/Chokoneze Ward in the  Mbaise local government area of Imo State, has been shot to death by some unknown gunmen.

The opposition party has been placed into mourning, as revealed by Lancelot Obiaku, the Director General of its New Media Center, and fear and anxiety have descended upon the population.

Two gunmen opened fire on Anyanwu on Thursday night in his rural house in Ezinihitte Mbaise while he and his wife were present.

An eyewitness, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed that the shooters rode up on a motorcycle to Anyanwu’s house and asked about him.

He said: “The two men rode in on a bike and asked his wife about her husband’s whereabouts, and she pointed towards the compound. They just went there and shot him point-blank, waited for some seconds before zooming off.”

“The first gunshot had scared away passers-by, so they had no resistance to escape. The problem now is that people have deserted the community for fear of more attacks,” the source added.

Henry Okoye, the Imo State police spokesperson, did not answer calls, thus attempts to gain a response from him were unsuccessful.