Police Recover Kidnapped Anambra Lawmaker’s Vehicle

Operatives of the Anambra State Police Command have recovered the vehicle belonging to a kidnapped member of the State House of Assembly, Hon Justice Azuka.

Azuka was kidnapped at about 9:20pm on Christmas eve on Tuesday, December 24 somewhere at Ugwunakpamkpa in Inland Town, Onitsha while returning to his home for Christmas celebration by yet-to-be identified gang of hoodlums.

Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga on Thursday said a police team recovered the lawmaker’s vehicle in which he was driving when he kidnapped.

He however added that that the lawmaker was still missing.

Ikenga said Azuka’s vehicle was recovered somewhere at the popular Upper Iweka area of the state’s commercial hub on Thursday.

Meanwhile, fears have continued to mount over the safety of the lawmaker representing Onitsha North constituency in the state Assembly as no member of his family or his friends have been contacted by his abductors to demand any ransom for his possible release.

The Command’s spokesperson however assured that operatives deployed to rescue the lawmaker and arrest perpetrators were still on the trail of the hoodlums.

A Labour Party’s (LP) aspirant in the coming 2025 governorship election in the state, Mr. John Chuma Nwosu while reacting to that incident accused the state governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo of not prioritising adequate security in the state.

Nwosu, in a statement he made available to newsmen in Thursday said, “Unabating violence, rampant killings and kidnappings have since proven me right and pointed to the stark failure of Gov. Charles Soludo’s administration to meet its statutory responsibility to protect citizens of Anambra State.

“Visitors, indigenes, non-indigenes, returnees, Diasporans all know and assert that insecurity is the major bane in Anambra.

“Statistics indicate a drastic drop in the number of those returning to Anambra for the 2024 Christmas and 2025 New Year festivities”, the LP’s governorship aspirant decried.

Governor Soludo had recently stated that he has procured about 163 security vehicles to be distributed to the security agencies in the state from January 2025 to fight criminals in the state.

Soludo added that his administration would also launch a security operation to be code-named: “Udo Ga Achi” translated in English as “Peace Shall Reign.”