The chairman of Otukpo Local Government Area, Maxwell Ogiri, has confirmed the gruesome murder of All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain, Ejeh Ijachi, in Ugboju community, Benue State.

Ogiri disclosed that the politician was attacked at his residence in the early hours of Monday by armed men who had tracked him home after an evening outing with friends.

“Ejeh Udeh was murdered. We don’t know the reasons for his murder yet, whether remote or immediate, but we can only say that his murderers were determined. They followed him to his house after he came back from a hangout with some friends and associates. He parked his car and went to his house and they began to fire from a distance, got closer to him and then finished him up,” the chairman stated.

According to Ogiri, he visited the scene with the DSS boss and other security chiefs, who assured him that an extensive manhunt would be launched to track the culprits.

Eyewitnesses told reporters that the assailants arrived on motorcycles, ambushed the APC leader within his compound, and shot him multiple times at close range before fleeing.

“They surrounded him and shot at him at close range. His body has since been deposited at the morgue in Otukpo,” one witness recounted.

The killing has reignited memories of a protracted family land dispute linked to past violence in Ondo and Ogobia communities.

Ejeh had reportedly survived several assassination attempts over the years, following a 2017 crisis that left eight people dead, including former PDP state chairman, retired Major Lawrence Ugboh.

Benue: Otukpo LG chairman confirms killing of APC chieftain Ejeh Ijachi