President Muhammadu Buhari has voiced outrage and disgust over what he called”the heinous murder of Adamawa politician, Ahmed Gulak, in Owerri, Imo State by yet to be identified gunmen.”
Ahmed Gulak has been an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain.
In his reaction to the evolution on Sunday, the president said: “I am repulsed by this premeditated and gruesome murder of Gulak by evil men and women who are determined to undermine the peace, unity and territorial integrity of our country.
“Let me warn, however, that nobody or group of people who participate in these despicable acts must expect to go free. We will deploy all tools at our disposal to make sure that these callous and criminal factors are brought to justice”
Finally, President Buhari expressed his”deep condolences to the family of the dead person, the government and people of Adamawa State as well as his associates and friends throughout the nation.”
Gulak, the former Special Adviser (Politics) into President Goodluck Jonathan, has been murdered by unidentified gunmen in Owerri, Imo State.
The news of his departure was created by his classmate, Dr. Umar Ado, in a statement on Sunday.
Though the announcement didn’t say what took him to Imo, unconfirmed sources revealed that he had been in Imo on the invitation of several Northern groups in the state.
Ahmadu Ali Gulak.”
Meanwhile, the police in Imo explained that Gulak was killed in the state on Sunday by unknown gunmen, noting that he left his hotel without a safety escort.
The Commissioner of Police in Imo, Abutu Yaro, made the revelation in a statement issued in Owerri by the control’s spokesperson, SP Bala Alkana.
It was gathered that Gulak was shot and killed on Ngor-Okpala street on his way into the Sam Mbakwe Airport in Imo State to grab a flight.
“About the 30/5/2021, at about 07:20hrs, armed bandits intercepted and assaulted a Toyota Camry cab carrying Ahmed Gulak and two others who were on their way to Sam Mbakwe Airport to catch a flight.
Read Also: APC Chieftain, Ahmed Gulak Killed by gunmen In Imo
“Ahmed Gulak abandoned his room at Protea Hotel without informing the authorities nor sister agencies in view of the fragile security situation in the South-East and Imo in particular.
“He left with no safety escorts while the taxi driver took the irregular route to the airport, six-armed bandits who rode in a Toyota Sienna intercepted, shot and identified Ahmed Gulak at about Umueze Obiangwu at Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area close to the airport,” he explained.
He said the force had directed discreet investigations into the matter since Tactical and Special Forces were set up to cordon the area and arrest perpetrators.
The development caused serious panic in Imo with some churches hurriedly ignoring members from Sunday services.
We Have No Hand In Gulak’s Death — IPOB
Reacting, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) stated it did not kill Ahmed Gulak.
According to IPOB, Gulak wasn’t a threat to Biafra agitation and moreover, the group isn’t a terrorist network, therefore had no motive to assassinate him.
IPOB stated this on Sunday at an announcement by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, in reaction to allegations by security agencies that IPOB killed Gulak.
“The attention of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ably led by our great leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was drawn to the untenable allegation from the security agencies that IPOB was responsible for the assassination of former Republican aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak, on his way to Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, Imo State.
“We, therefore, a state without equivocations which IPOB knows nothing about the said assassination. In the first place, what risk did the late Gulak constitute to our origin to warrant his elimination? We had nothing in common with him and could not have whatsoever killed him.
“Pointing accusing fingers at IPOB for this barbaric act is simply meant to divert attention from the actual masterminds. This is precisely the identical way terrorists in security uniform commit various atrocities in the South-East and flip around to attribute IPOB for their crimes simply to tarnish our global reputation.
“This is purely a smokescreen to justify their long-awaited plan to announce another distinctive military operation in the Eastern area to kill more innocent Biafrans.
“Instead of the safety agencies to properly investigate the incident and possible factors they had been swift to accuse IPOB of a crime we know nothing about. Did IPOB have the itinerary of the late Gulak to have waylaid him at the airport?
“Before joining IPOB together with the offence the jaundiced zoo security agencies should have first investigated Gulak’s sponsor, Hope Uzodimma, in addition to his political opponents to set up their potential involvement.
“This is comparable to this allegation from the Lagos Commissioner of Police who raised false alarm lately that IPOB and ESN were planning to attack Lagos State.
“This was to conceal the plans by the terrorists patronising Nigerian government to use their cloned terrorists to bomb soft targets from the town of Lagos and blame it upon IPOB. But thank God some discerning heads known their antics and didn’t fall for their economical propaganda.
“We aren’t surprised that they immediately pointed accusing fingers at us as they’ve consistently looked for every opportunity to incriminate us to frustrate our struggle for Biafra restoration. But this also won’t fly because the entire world is aware that IPOB is a silent motion. IPOB is not a terrorist organisation and does not spill blood.
“Had the late Chief of Army Staff Attahiru’s plane crashed in the East, undoubtedly, the so-called intelligence agency would state it had been IPOB that shot the plane down and everyone in Fulani commanded Sharia core North could consider it. For us, linking IPOB with the assassination of Gulak is only to pitch the East against the core Islamic North as pay and justification for another round of pogrom against Easterners living in the North.
“We’re only after the restoration of Biafra. The assassination of politicians is not part of our agenda otherwise we’d have murdered the Efulefu politicians in the Eastern region sabotaging our struggle.
“We’re in the mournful mood before the May 31st Biafra Remembrance Day in honour of our fallen heroes. The terrorists in security uniform looking for any slightest opportunity to blackmail us shouldn’t cash in on the sit-at-home order given by our chief because of our fallen heroes.
“The order is for Monday and not Sunday. Individuals were freely moving about on the roads of Biafra with no molestations from IPOB and there was no way we might have singled out Gulak for attack because we a non-violent movement.”
