Anambra Lawmaker Azuka was killed because he was in opposition, Soludo’s Govt knows his killers – Fr. Muonso

Catholic priest Fr. Chibuzo Emmanuel Obimma, popularly known as Fr. Ebube Muonso, has accused the Anambra State Police Command and Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration of protecting those responsible for the killing of Hon. Justice Azuka.

Hon. Azuka, who represented Onitsha 1 Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly under the Labour Party (LP), was allegedly assassinated for not belonging to the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

Fr. Ebube Muonso claimed that powerful individuals behind Azuka’s abduction and murder bribed the police to facilitate the escape of two key suspects arrested in connection with the case. In a video seen on Thursday, the cleric called on the people of Onitsha to demand justice, warning that the late lawmaker’s spirit would not rest until the perpetrators were exposed.

“He (Azuka) was not from APGA but the Labour Party. The suspects were apprehended and handed over to the Anambra State Police,” he said. “How come both of them escaped from custody? Who is deceiving who?”

He alleged that the police allowed the escape to cover up the crime, suggesting that those responsible had paid to silence the truth. “Once you are connected to the powers that be, you are under perpetual immunity,” he added, calling on Governor Soludo to remember that “there is God in everything you do in this world.”

The cleric questioned why prominent individuals linked to the case, including some community leaders, had not been arrested. He insisted that Onitsha people must rise up and demand answers, or else Azuka’s spirit would “never rest.”

The Anambra State Police Command had earlier confirmed that two suspects linked to the lawmaker’s murder had escaped from custody. Police spokesperson SP Tochukwu Ikenga explained that the escape occurred while the suspects were assisting officers in an operation to recover stolen goods and operational vehicles used by the criminal gang. However, the police only issued a statement about the escape eight days after it happened.

The Labour Party caucus in the Anambra State House of Assembly has also accused the police of deliberately aiding the suspects’ escape to deny Hon. Azuka justice. They argued that the police’s failure to act swiftly to rearrest the fugitives further proves their suspicions that the lawmaker’s murder was politically motivated.