It is IPoB that killed my brother, says Cyril, Chike Akunyili’s brother

Contrary to earlier reports, younger brother to Chike Akunyili, Cyril said the prominent medical doctor and husband of the late public health expert and NAFDAC chief, Dora, was killed by gunmen who were elements of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPoB).

Peoples Gazette, an online newspaper, had reported that Dr. Akunyili was returning to Enugu from a meeting in Onitsha when the gunmen opened fire on his vehicle, killing him instantly with his driver and police orderly.

But Cyril in a tweet pointedly accused IPoB, and asked why it did it?

Other reports said the gunmen may have mistaken the doctor for a politician because of his police orderly.

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The remains of the three had since been deposited at the hospital ahead of burial and police investigation.

The late Akunyili until his death was running St Leo’s Hospital, one of the biggest in Enugu. He graduated first class and spent his professional career treating citizens across the country, including many on charitable grounds.

“He was travelling along the Old Onitsha Enugu Highway when they struck,” a family  source had told the Peoples Gazzete said under anonymity because he was not asked to publicly comment on the matter until a formal statement has been issued.

Mr Akunyili lost his wife to cancer in 2014. He was survived by their six children.

But IPoB had since denied responsibility for the killing of Akunyili.