Nelson Sylvester, a legislator from Enugu State, was fatally shot by unknown assailants.
Until his death, Mr. Sylvester, better known as Ofunwa, served as the representative for the Eha-Ulo ward in the Legislative Council for the Nsukka Local Government Area.On Sunday night, gunmen stormed his home in Eha-Alumonah and shot him to death.
A close friend of the deceased politician speculated that his passing was related to the unstable security situation in the area, an issue on which the member had been working tirelessly. The unidentified friend said he went to the village on Saturday after attending a wedding in Enugu city. Due to the deteriorating security situation, he had to attend a conference in the village that day.
He said his attackers tracked him to an adjacent town, where they killed him inside a fenced complex. For almost a decade, Ofunwa has worked to keep the peace in his neighbourhood. Many criminals in Eha-Alumonah have been disarmed thanks to his efforts.
An undisclosed friend to Nelson revealed that; “It was the same security meeting that he attended two days ago after we attended a wedding together. Ofunwa told me he called the Elders to come for the meeting because their community is becoming uninhabitable. It was this meeting that he went to and he didn’t come back.
“They went to his house, he escaped and they pursued him into another village where he scaled the fence and entered the compound. They came inside there and shot him directly to the chest.