The Anambra State Police Command on Tuesday confirmed what has been peddled as rumours, that the suspects arrested in connection with the murder of the member that represented Onitsha North Constituency One in the State House of Assembly, Hon Justice Azuka, have escaped.
It was gathered from sources close to the Special Anti-robbery Squad SARS/RRS AWKUZU that there was a plan to arrest a receiver of cars snatched by the gang members.
The receiver had insisted that he would never make himself available unless the two gang members in custody, Kevin Ikechukwu Ossai, aka IKEM, and one other, OCHA, came to sell the cars to him.
OCHA was asked to drive the car while IKEM, chained on his leg, was sitting in the passenger seat, with two SARS operatives sitting in the back seat of the same car.
It was gathered that immediately the operation was about to take place on sighting the receiver, the two SARS officers were said to have jumped out while OCHA was still in control of the steering.
Immediately, the two Policemen made for the arrest of the receiver, IKEM and OCHA, were said to have zoomed off in the car and escaped.
Although the police claimed to have neutralized the kidnappers, information had it that the kidnappers escaped with the vehicle.
A pressure group, the Onitsha North Elders Forum (ONEF), had earlier this week, in a statement signed by Chief Celestine Onochie and Ichie Onwuka Idika, Chairman and Secretary, respectively, asked the Police authority to tell Anambrarians what actually happened. They argued that if the criminals were neutralized, they should show the corpses to the public or show any other evidence to that effect.
ONEF also called for a thorough and discreet investigation into the development, stating that the Police should immediately set machinery in motion to unravel the incident that led to the alleged escape.
However, in confirmation of the people’s fears, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Tochukwu Ikenga, said the State Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, on receipt of the report on Tuesday about the two suspects’ escape, has consequently deployed the command’s human, operational, and intelligence assets for the re-arrest of the suspects.
Ikenga said the CP has also directed immediate disciplinary action against the Officers found wanting in this regard.
“Preliminary information reveals that following the confession of the criminal gang, two of the suspects were assisting the Police Investigating Officers in an operation to arrest the receiver and recover the Operational vehicles that the gang used in their deadly activities.
“During the onslaught operation by the operatives, the suspect (the receiver) was arrested and two vehicles suspected to have been snatched from the unsuspecting members of the public were recovered. Unfortunately, the other two suspects fled the scene.
“To this end, the CP assured that the Command is on the offensive against every criminal element in the State and that efforts are in top gear to ensure that the suspects are re-arrested and justice served,” he said.
