The younger brother of the Accountant-General Imo state, Valentine Obiezu, has been killed and the police in the state have launched a manhunt for the gunmen.

It was gathered that the victim, simply identified as Obiezu, was a millionaire and senior oil worker in Warri, Delta State, and that his killing on Sunday had caused panic in Imo State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the victim came home for the Christmas and New Year celebration and met his untimely death in his home state.

While some link the incident to politics because of his brother’s position, others believed it was a kidnap operation that went bad.

Our correspondent gathered that the victim was killed after the gunmen made an unsuccessful attempt to abduct him from his village, Akatta in the Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State.

It was learnt that the victim was driving a Toyota Hilux van when the gunmen attempted to abduct him.

“They didn’t even wait for him to stop and alight from his vehicle before they opened fire on the vehicle. They simply pushed him out of the vehicle and drove away with it,” a source in the village said.

When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, said he had not been briefed about the incident.

But a senior police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told our correspondent that the Orlu Area Command had swung into action with a view to arresting the fleeing gunmen.