Outrage as Two Suspected Killers of Anambra Lawmaker Escape from Police Custody

•State assembly rejects police report 

•HURIWA: Devt reveals extent of systemic rot

Alex Enumah in Abuja and David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

Reactions have continued to trail confirmation by police authorities in Anambra State that two persons involved in the kidnap and eventual killing of the member representing Onitsha North 1 constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon Justice Azuka, escaped from police custody.

Azuka was kidnapped on Christmas eve while traveling home for the yuletide, but his body was later found at the foot of the Second Niger Bridge in Onitsha on February 6.

The state police command had announced the escape on Tuesday night through a press release by the state police command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, saying the two escaped while being led to the home of another suspect, who keeps the stolen vehicles used by the syndicate.

Ikenga said when the operatives sighted the accused and went after them to arrest them, the two suspects who led them there took to their heels and disappeared into thin air.

The announcement has however sparked off outrage against the police, with many questioning the integrity of the police, asking how suspects in such high profile case were able to escape.

To that extent, the Anambra State House of Assembly, has rejected the report, asking police to do all within their power to produce the suspects.

A media personality, Mr Uche Nworah, who questioned the escape said, “The suspects already escaped before the current Police Commissioner, CP Ikioye Orutugu, took over. Why wasn’t the incident made public?

“The current Police Commissioner was not aware of the incident until Monday. This informed his directive to launch a manhunt for the escaped suspects and disciplinary action against the officers involved.

“Why didn’t the former CP, Itam brief CP Orutugu, during handing and taking over about this? Is this a calculated attempt to sabotage the efforts of the Governor of Anambra State and the government over their ongoing onslaught to dislodge criminal elements in the state?”

Meanwhile, Speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Somtochukwu Udeze, has described the development as shocking and unfortunate.

In a press statement, Udeze said the incident cast a shadow over the otherwise commendable and professional manner in which the police have been handling the investigation, emphasising that the position of the state legislature was that the fleeing suspects must be tracked and apprehended at all costs. 

“We call on the State Commissioner of Police to redouble his efforts and take all necessary measures to ensure that the escaped suspects are re-arrested and brought to justice.

“Police should declare the  escaped suspects wanted and publish their full names, addresses, and photographs to enlist public support in tracking them down,” he said.

At the same time, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has said the alleged escape of the suspects showed the many decades of corruption, indiscipline, lack of professionalism and impunity in the Nigeria Police Force.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, claimed that the inefficiency of the Police Service Commission (PSC) in dealing decisively and swiftly with rogue police operatives, has been the incentive for some police operatives to engage in trade by barter with criminals.

“It is, therefore, not surprising to millions of discerning Nigerians to hear that two suspected killers of the Anambra State legislator, were allowed to escape by the police.

“The information that the DPO had ordered for investigation is a red herring and absolutely laughable because this sort of scandal is deeply rooted within the police circles.

“It can only be solved not by lackadaisical approach but by a massive structural reforms within the police to eradicate the bad and rotten eggs who are in greater percentage in the NPF.”

HURIWA stated that the practice by alleged rogue police operatives to connive with accused persons to escape the long arm of the law, was as old as the existence of the federal policing system.