“We Take Responsibility But Not Complicit In The Escape Of Suspected Killers Of Anambra Lawmaker” – Police

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The Anambra State Police Command ,on Thursday, February, 20, 2025 absolved themselves from complicity in the escape of two key kidnap  and murder suspects  of Labour Party LP, State Lawmaker, Hon Justice Azuka.

The Command’s position  is coming against the gale of public outrage and criticisms trailing the scandalous escape of the suspects from Police custody .

Not a few people have questioned the circumstances surrounding the sudden escape of such key suspects in an  equally  high profile matter as the abduction and killing of a sitting member of a State House of Assembly.

The Source reports that Hon Azuka was abducted by gunmen on December 24, 2024, while heading home for the Christmas and New Year festivities.

But on February 6, his already decomposed body was recovered at the Second Niger Bridge Onitsha by a combined team of Security operatives who equally announced the arrests of all the suspects connected to the incident.

However, in a shocking and unbelievable development, the Police on Tuesday February 18, informed that two of the suspects have escaped.

The surprise announcement generated serious backlash and unkind comments against the police  from many residents and organizations.

The Speaker ,of Anambra State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Somtochukwu Nkem Udeze, in a statement on Wednesday February 19, while condemning the escape of the suspects, noted that the development has  cast a shadow on the otherwise commendable and professional manner in which the police had been handling the matter. Many people have also alleged complicity on the part of the Police.

But in a statement on Thursday issued by its spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the Anambra State Police Command noted that having worked tirelessly to track down the suspects, it will be  preposterous to impugn any complicity in the escape of the suspects.

According to him, the Police cannot be the same people that placed their lives at risk in concert with other security agencies to arrest the criminals involved in the dastardly act ,only to turn around to sabotage the process of serving justice on  them.

He noted that the pre-occupation of the Police at the moment is how to effect the re-arrest of the escaped suspects.

” Remember that we had earlier paraded these suspects for residents of the State and the World to see.

“We are owing up to our responsibility, no doubt. Nevertheless, our main focus now while we are still interrogating the officers involved in these operational lapses  to face serious sanctions, is to re-arrest the suspects on the run”,  Ikenga stated