The news that suspects detained in relation to the murder of a member of the House of Justice Azuka have escaped from police custody has shocked Somtochukwu Nkem Udeze, the speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly.
According to reports, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the spokesperson for the Anambra State Police Command, said in a statement that two suspects who had been detained in connection with the lawmaker’s death had escaped.
Remember how the late legislator Azuka, who was elected on the Labour Party’s platform, was abducted along Ugwunankpa Road in Onitsha’s Inland Town?
About 40 days after the helpers took him away, his decaying remains was found on the 2nd Niger Bridge a week ago.
The two suspects reportedly escaped while helping officers catch a receiver of stolen goods and retrieve vehicles involved in the gang’s illegal operations, according to the police.
In response, the Speaker said in a statement that the recent report “casts a shadow over the otherwise commendable and professional manner in which the Police have been handling the investigation,” calling the development regrettable.
According to him, the “fleeing suspects must be tracked and apprehended at all costs”.
He called on the State Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu to “redouble his efforts and take all necessary measures to ensure that the escaped suspects are re-arrested and brought to justice.
He urged the command to “immediately declare them wanted and publish their full names, addresses, and photographs to enlist public support in tracking them down”.
