Nigerian local chief killed in renewed separatist violence

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Police say gunmen have shot dead a local chief and two of his aides during an attack in Nigeria’s southeastern Imo state. The gunmen disguised themselves as “persons in distress” who had come to report an emergency situation to him before opening fire, the police spokesperson said. The latest incident in Imo state follows a similar trend of attacks across Nigeria’s southeast region in which members of the militant arm of the group Indigenous People of Biafra have emerged as prime suspects. IPOB, which is an outlawed separatist group, has been pressing for the region to break away from the West African nation and become independent. IPOB denied involvement in the latest attack.