Kehinde Fajobi
The Labour Party (LP) on Thursday condemned the killing of Justice Azuka, the lawmaker representing Onitsha 1 North Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly, describing it as a targeted assassination.
Azuka was abducted on December 24, 2024, along Ugwunaobankpa Road in Onitsha while returning home for Christmas.
His lifeless body was discovered 44 days later along the Second Niger Bridge by security operatives in the early hours of Thursday, February 6, 2025.
In a statement released in Abuja, LP’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, expressed shock over the killing and accused Governor Charles Soludo of failing to curb rising insecurity in the state.
“His death and other ones have become a daily occurrence in Anambra, a state that is gradually assuming a Hobbesian status under Prof Charles Soludo.
“Anambra has fully assumed the state of war, where life has suddenly become nasty, brutish and short because the present leadership has completely lost the willpower to enforce law and sanity,” Ifoh said.
The slain lawmaker, an LP chieftain, had reclaimed his mandate through a court ruling that ousted Douglas Egbuna of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who was initially declared the winner of the 2023 election.
Ifoh recalled a similar case, lamenting that “not long ago, the Labour Party candidate in the last governorship election in Anambra State, Obiora Agbasimelo, was abducted while campaigning, and as we speak, his whereabouts are still unknown.
Neither the security agencies nor the government could account for his disappearance, and his family is left traumatised.
“The whole essence of a government is to provide security and well-being for the people; that constitutional provision is lacking in Anambra State at present.
“It is unbelievable and unspeakable that a personality as high as a legislator could be abducted for over a month, and the government was incapable of rescuing him.”
While acknowledging that police have arrested some suspects, the LP spokesman called for a thorough investigation.
“We are not in any way suggesting political motive. That would be left for the security agencies to determine.
READ ALSO: Body of Abducted Anambra Lawmaker Found Near Second Niger Bridge
“However, we are not unmindful of the circumstances that led to his regaining his mandate after a court ruling ousted the previous winner from another party who was initially declared the winner of the 2023 election.”
He urged LP members in Anambra to remain calm and allow law enforcement to do its work.
“We are therefore calling on all our party members in Anambra State to maintain peace and allow the security agencies to diligently carry out their duties.
“We also encourage them not to be dampened by this unfortunate incident but rather remain focused on the activities ahead,” Ifoh added.