The command, however, admitted to operational lapses and assured the public of its commitment to re-arresting the fleeing suspects.

The Anambra State Police Command has refuted allegations that its officers aided the escape of suspects arrested in connection with the abduction and murder of the late lawmaker, Hon. Justice Azuka.

The command, however, admitted to operational lapses and assured the public of its commitment to re-arresting the fleeing suspects.

SaharaReporters earlier reported that the Labour Party caucus in the Anambra State House of Assembly accused the state police command of facilitating the escape of two suspects from custody.

According to the Labour Party lawmakers, the police deliberately took no action to rearrest the fugitives more than a week after their escape, in an attempt to facilitate the suspects' escape and deny justice to the late lawmaker.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the lawmakers making these allegations included Hon. Barr. Jude Ifeanyi Umennajiego, Hon. Mazi Paul Obu, Hon. Fred Ezenwa, Hon. Barr Pat Okafor, Hon. Tochukwu Udemezue, Hon. Nigeria Mbachu, and Hon. Nkechi Ogbuefi.

They stated that the manner in which the suspects escaped from the custody of the Police Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and the police’s nonchalant handling of the situation confirmed their suspicions that the late lawmaker’s murder was a political assassination.

Reacting to the allegations, the Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, on Thursday denied the allegations and urged the public to continue to trust the force.

The police spokesperson noted that police officers who risked their lives to arrest the suspects could not be the same individuals undermining justice.

He said, “Please trust us again. The police cannot be the same people who risk their lives with other security operatives to arrest these criminals involved in the gruesome murder of Hon. Justice Azuka and still turn around to sabotage the process.”

The command also reminded the public that the suspects had previously been paraded before Anambra people and the world.

“Remember that we had earlier paraded these suspects for Ndi Anambra and the world to see,” he said.

While acknowledging the failure in keeping the suspects in custody, the police assured that an internal investigation was ongoing, with officers involved in the security lapse set to face serious sanctions.

“We are owning up to our responsibility, no doubt. Nevertheless, our main focus now, while we are still interrogating the officers involved in these operational lapses to face serious sanctions, is to re-arrest the suspects on the run,” he said.

SaharaReporters reported on Tuesday that the police command announced in a statement that two suspects linked to the murder of the late member of the state assembly representing Onitsha 1 Constituency had escaped from police custody.

Ikenga stated that preliminary investigations indicated the suspects were assisting police officers in an operation to arrest the receiver of stolen goods and recover operational vehicles used by the criminal gang.

However, it was learnt that the police statement was issued eight days after the suspects escaped from custody.

The Labour Party caucus of the State House of Assembly said the suspects' pictures, full names, addresses, hometowns, and other details should have been widely circulated in the public domain and on social media.

According to them, it would enable people to identify them and report to security agents for their re-arrest.

The escape of the suspects has sparked concerns among the public, with many calling for a thorough probe into the incident.