The Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Ikioye Orutugu, has narrated how two suspected killers of Justice Azuka, a state lawmaker, escaped from police custody in the state.

Mr Orutugu spoke on Friday during a press briefing at the Police Command Headquarters in Awka.

The police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, forwarded a text of the press briefing to PREMIUM TIMES.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that gunmen, on 24 December 2024, abducted Mr Azuka, a member of the Anambra House of Assembly.

A joint security team, on 6 February, found the lawmaker’s decomposing body at Second Niger Bridge in Onitsha, Anambra State.

The police in the state later confirmed that nine suspected killers of the lawmaker had been arrested.

But on Tuesday night, the police authorities announced that two of the suspected killers of the lawmaker had escaped from custody.

On Thursday, the police admitted that they suffered “operational lapses” which resulted in the escape of the suspects, vowing to sanction officers involved in the incident.

The slain lawmaker was a member of the opposition Labour Party.

Speaking at a press briefing, Mr Orutugu identified the escaped suspects as Ikemefuna Ossai from Delta State and Chinedu Okoli from Imo State.

He said although Messrs Ossai and Okoli were not “principal actors” in the crime, they served as drivers for the criminal gang who abducted and murdered the lawmaker.

The police chief said a total of 11 suspects, including the two suspects who escaped from custody, had been arrested in connection with the abduction and murder of the lawmaker.

The commissioner said the two suspects were assisting police operatives of the Rapid Response Squad Awkuzu to arrest Tochukwu Akolisa, one of the buyers of stolen vehicles belonging to the victim.

He said that during the operation, Mr Akolisa attempted to flee upon sighting the operatives, who were accompanied by Messrs Ossai and Okoli.

“In the course of this operation, Tochukwu Akolisa was shot in the leg and taken into custody. However, in the ensuing confusion, the two suspects managed to escape in a vehicle.

“Despite an immediate pursuit by police operatives, they abandoned the vehicle and fled into a nearby bush. Unfortunately, all efforts to re-arrest them have so far been unsuccessful,” he narrated.

Mr Orutugu reiterated that, contrary to insinuations, the two suspects escaped from custody on 8 February two days before his assumption in office as the state police commissioner on 10 February.

“However, upon receiving intelligence regarding this case on 18th February 2025, I deemed it necessary to brief Ndi Anambra and the general public, reaffirming the Command’s commitment to keeping residents informed about the evolving security situation in the state,” he said.