Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
Police in Anambra State have paraded nine-member kidnap gang involved in the killing of Anambra State lawmaker, Justice Azuka.
The suspected criminals were paraded at the Police Headquarters in Amawbia, Awka, Friday evening.
Addressing journalists during the parade, Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Obono Itam, disclosed that over 100 other notorious criminals have been killed in the past nine months in the state.
According to him, security operatives had successfully destroyed many criminal camps in Ufuma, Eziowelle, Achalla, Ogbaru, and several other locations in the state.
“Many of you are aware of the gruesome murder of Hon. Justice Azuka, the Honourable State House of Assembly member representing Onitsha North Constituency 1 in the Anambra State House of Assembly, who was abducted on December 24, 2024, in Onitsha. This serious incident motivated the command to go the extra mile in intelligence gathering and discreet investigation.
“In the early hours of February 6, 2025, at the second Niger Bridge, the joint security team comprising the Police and AVG operatives, on a mission to rescue the abducted Honourable State House of Assembly member representing Onitsha North, Hon. Azuka, regrettably found his lifeless body at the scene. May his soul rest in perfect peace.
“Given the above, on the same day, the command operatives, in a joint operation with Anambra State Vigilante operatives, acting on intelligence-led information, arrested nine suspects actively involved in this unfortunate incident and recovered two pump-action guns. One of the suspects sustained a gunshot injury in his leg during a gun duel with the police operatives,” he stated.
He also listed the names of the arrested suspects as follows: Ugochukwu Onuorah, aged 30; Ikemefuna Ossai, aged 20; Ikenna Orugu, aged 27; Chibuike Obiefuna, aged 19; Chinonso Olisa, aged 19; Chinedu Okoli, aged 21; David Ojini, aged 25; and the most notorious of them all, Peter Sunday, aged 20, with a large tattoo inscription of “No Peace 4 d Government” on his chest.
He further stated that the command operatives successfully arrested one Chidiebere Nwosu, a kidnap suspect in Uruagu, Nnewi, and neutralised some of his gang members involved in the attack on police personnel attached to the Rapid Response Squad after a successful arrest on October 3, 2024.
One of the suspects who allegedly shot Azuka dead, Ugochukwu Onuorah, aged 30, denied pulling the trigger to kill him. He, however, acknowledged that the late lawmaker was beaten to death by them after his family members failed to pay the ransom of N20 million.
“We did not collect any money from him. We asked for N20 million, but he did not give us,” he added.
