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The Ime Obi Royal Council of Onitsha Kingdom, Anambra State, has urged the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to take over the investigation of the murder of Justice Azuka, who represented Onitsha North 1 Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly.
Azuka was abducted on December 24, 2024, and his lifeless body was discovered on the Second Niger Bridge on February 6, 2025.
He has since been buried.
In the aftermath of the tragic incident, the spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said security operatives arrested 11 suspects in connection with the crime.
However, in a dramatic twist, two of the suspects reportedly escaped on February 8, while leading police operatives to apprehend another principal suspect in Obosi, Idemili North Local Government Area.
The suspects’ whereabouts remain unknown, sparking outrage among state officials, lawmakers, and concerned stakeholders.
However, the Ime Obi council, presided over by the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, after a council meeting, in Onitsha, on Friday, expressed their lack of confidence in the way the Anambra State Police is handling the case.
In a letter to the IG, signed by the Chief of Staff of Ime Obi Ruling Council, Onitsha, Chief Osita Anionwu, and made available to journalists, the Royal Cabinet pointed out that there are many unresolved moral questions regarding the escape of two suspects from police custody.
The letter read in part, “Given the unsatisfactory manner in which this high-profile case has so far been handled, the Onitsha community has resolved to respectfully call on the Inspector General of Police, Dr Kayode Egbetokun, to take over the case from the State Command.
“We also resolved to call on the Government of Anambra State to restore confidence in its new security strategy by fulfilling the affirmation made by the Anambra State information commissioner regarding the government’s commitment to ensuring that justice is served swiftly.
“We further call on the State House of Assembly to ensure that justice is served in this case and always; we all feel endangered!
“Finally, we resolved to review our community security system for greater effectiveness, working under the frameworks of the security agencies and the state government.”
Meanwhile, amidst widespread rumours that seven other suspects in custody arrested in connection with the murder, have died of tetanus from the bullet wounds sustained during their arrest, the spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, denied the rumours, dismissing it as “untrue”.
Ikenga, who spoke to our correspondent on the development on Friday, said the Command also accepted responsibility for any lapses in handling the matter, reiterating its resolve to re-arrest the two fleeing suspects.
He urged the general public to disregard the rumours saying some of the suspects had died due to tetanus, insisting that the suspects were alive.
“Please ignore the rumours claiming that the suspects were dead. It is not true. Though some of them sustained gunshot injuries before their arrest, they were paraded both during the first and second press briefings we had at the command,” Ikenga added.
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