Decomposing body of abducted Anambra lawmaker found on Second Niger Bridge

The lifeless body of the member representing Onitsha North 1 Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Justice Azuka, has been found along the 2nd Niger Bridge.

Azuka’s lifeless body, said to be already decomposing was found by a joint team of security operatives in the early hours of Thursday.

This is coming 44 days after he was kidnapped on December 24, 2024, along the Ugwunaobankpa Road in Inland Town, Onitsha, while returning home for Christmas.

The abducted lawmaker, a chieftain of the Labour Party, had regained his mandate after a court ruling ousted the previous winner, Douglas Egbuna, of the Peoples Democratic Party, who was initially declared the winner of the 2023 election.

Azuka was reportedly kidnapped at gunpoint in a swift operation that lasted less than five minutes on the Ugwunaobankpa Road.

Our correspondent gathered that the discovery of the corpse has sent shock waves around Onitsha and its environs as residents expressed worry that such a dastardly act could happen to a lawmaker without any iota of trace yet.

This is the second time a serving lawmaker would be abducted and killed by gunmen in Anambra State in less than three years.

On May 21, 2022, shortly after Prof. Chukwuma Soludo was sworn in as governor, gunmen abducted the lawmaker representing Aguata 2 Constituency in the state House of Assembly, Okechukwu Okoye.

Okoye, also known as “Okey di okay”, represented Soludo’s state constituency, Isuofia, until his abduction on the fateful day.

However, Okoye was killed and beheaded alongside his aide, Cyril Chiegboka, six days after they were abducted along Aguluzigbo Road, Anaocha Local Government Area of the state, and their heads and bodies dumped along a roadside in the state.

Our correspondent gathered from a police source who craved anonymity that the culprits who kidnapped and killed the lawmaker were the ones who led the security operatives to the scene where the decomposing body of the lawmaker was found after which they were arrested.

The police source said, “A combined team of police operatives from Abuja arrested the culprits who kidnapped and killed him. They were arrested in the early hours of Thursday and they went and showed the security men where they dumped the corpse.

“It was when the kidnappers were arrested that they took the security officials to where they dumped the body. They have been handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Awka for further investigations.

“It was a sad and tragic moment when we saw the decomposing body of the lawmaker. The body has been deposited at a morgue in Onitsha. The security operatives from Abuja acted based on intelligence gathering since the report of his kidnappers was brought to them.”

When contacted, the spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the discovery of the lifeless body of the lawmaker, saying that joint security operatives found the corpse while on routine patrol.

However, when asked if the culprits had been arrested, Ikenga maintained silence, saying that the joint security team had taken over the scene and the operation was ongoing.

Ikenga said, “In the early hours of today, 6/2/2025, at the Second Niger Bridge, the joint security team comprising the police and AVG operatives, on a mission to rescue abducted Hon. Justice Azuka, House of Assembly member representing Onitsha North, regrettably found his lifeless body at the scene.

“As soon as I get more details, I will keep you updated as the joint security team has taken over the scene and an operation is ongoing for the possible arrest of the suspects involved.”

Meanwhile, the Labour Party caucus of the House of Representatives has expressed deep sadness and devastation over the killing of its party man.

Reacting to the development in a press statement on Thursday, the LP House of Representatives Caucus leader and member representing Ogbaru Federal Constituency of Anambra state, Afam Ogene, described the  incident as “horrendous, heart-rending and a big blow to the Labour Party and the legislature.”

Ogene pointed out that he had earlier in January called on the Anambra State governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, to take urgent and decisive action to secure the release of the abducted state lawmaker and also address the growing insecurity in the State, which according to him “has become notorious for kidnappings and killings.”

The federal lawmakers expressed their heartfelt condolences to the family of the late lawmaker, especially his young wife and children, who had been thrown into deep sorrow as a result of this dastardly act of great wickedness by criminals.