In the last two weeks that Anambra Police Command received a new Police Commissioner, Mr. Ikioye Urutugu, a lot has happened including the mysterious escape of two of the suspects arrested over the kidnap and killing of a member of the state Assembly. OKEY MADUFORO speaks to the Commissioner on these issues
Since you assumed office as the Commissioner for Police how has the journey been so far?
It has been eventful and also challenging but the Command has been on top of the moment. I met a case of the three siblings that were killed and dumped inside a freezer and I went for an on-the-spot assessment on what actually happened.
I have also met with the parents of the three children and it was clear that they were not at home when the incident happened. This is also a lesson to parents on how to take care of their children because had it been that someone that is elderly was around it would have happened. But I wish to say that the perpetrators are living around and in due time the Command would unearth what actually happened to those children and those involved in that dastardly act.
Also, at my resumption to office I have visited Police formations in the state and have been interfaced with officers and men of the Command and we have been able to re- engineered the security architecture in the Command for optimal results.
The last time you carried out a tour of Anambra state during the Monday Sit-At-Home and were your findings?
Yes, the Command did and what we discovered was that the people of Anambra state are traders and business people and, on that day, shops were opened and markets were opened despite the Sit At Home Order. That shows that the people are not happy with this order of Sit-at-Home. They must have lost billions of naira due to closing the markets and not doing business.
Anambra is a commercial state and you cannot take that away from them. So, anyone that is telling them not to open their shops for business on Monday is an enemy of the state and that explains why the markets were opened on that Monday.
We had to move around to encourage the traders and to let them know that we are there to give them protection and they are happy about that and we are not stopping at that because we not going to rest until we achieve what we want.
Go to other states and you would discover that they are not obeying the Sit At Home Order and a lot of business men and women have left Anambra state for other states and you can see the amount of revenue that the state is losing as a result of that.
There is this trending story of two suspects arrested over the killing of Hon Justice Azuka of state Assembly. What actually happened?
Let me reiterate the fact that this regrettable incident happened two days before I assumed Office on 10th February 2025 as the Commissioner of Police Anambra State. Upon receipt of the information on 18th of February 2025, this informed my briefing to Anambra people and Nigerians as the Command under my watch shall ensure residents stay informed as the Security Situation evolves in the State. This sad development motivated me to go the extra mile on a discreet investigation to gather the facts surrounding the incident. The cause of my findings shows that the incident happened on the 8th of February, 2025 in Obosi.
The two suspects, Ikemefuna Ossai from Delta State and Chinedu Okoli from Imo State out of eleven confessed suspects already paraded by the Command. Chinedu and Ikemefuna are not the principal suspects but the drivers of the notorious gang.
They were assisting the Police Operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad (RSS) Akwuzu to arrest one Tochukwu Akolisa from Anambra State, whom according to the suspect mentioned the Tochukwu Akolisa as one of the receivers and buyers of their victim’s vehicles and belongings.
During the onslaught operation by the Operatives, to arrest Tochukwu the receiver took to his heels Immediately he sighted the Police Operatives in company with Ikemfuna and Chinedu.
Regrettably, I was informed that the two suspects Ikemfuna and Chinedu were the ones driving the car when the operatives alighted the vehicle, shot at the receiver and buyer on his leg and arrested him.
The two other suspects used the opportunity to escape from the scene with the vehicle. I was also briefed that during a hot chase by the Police Operatives, the suspect abandoned the car and escaped into a nearby bush. The area was cordoned off and all efforts to apprehend the fugitives proved abortive.
So, they cannot be found or are they dead?
That is not the end of the matter because the manhunt is ongoing and as a command we shall stop at nothing to re- arrest the suspects and you know that there is no place that they can hide and it is a question of time we shall surely get them and their cohorts.
How about other issues of Kidnapping and killings in the state and what has the Command done so far?
As the substantive Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, I consider it a priority to address this situation, re-arrest the suspects, and implement necessary measures to prevent such incidents or related ones from happening again.
I have briefed the Force headquarters on the situation on the ground and the actions taken, which include activating operational plans to re-arrest the suspects at large and initiating disciplinary proceedings against police personnel involved due to operational lapses.
Given the above the Command is more motivated to stabilize the security situation in the State and some of the highlights of the achievement of the Command in the period under review State as follows:
On 18th February 2025, at approximately 8:00 PM, police officers on patrol around Upper-Iweka, Onitsha, intercepted and arrested one Orji Chigozie ‘M’. Upon a search, operatives recovered a locally fabricated Beretta pistol concealed inside a bag. Preliminary investigations suggest that the suspect may be involved in criminal activities within the area. The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Awka, for further investigation and necessary legal action. Also, following an intensive manhunt of coordinated operation by the Police Operatives in the early hours of 19/2/2025 rescued an abducted victim in Ihiala. The victim was reported to have been abducted by suspected armed men on 18/2/2025 by 11:30pm along ilo Akpukwu road Nkwelle Ezunaka.
Early before the rescue of the victim, the Police Operatives attached to the 3-3 division during a hot chase made the armed men forcibly abandon the vehicle one ash Toyota Corolla with reg nos: AND 550 JD suspected to have been snatched from an unsuspecting member of the public used for the abduction of the rescued victim. The vehicle was also recovered and operations are ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspects.
My assurances on behalf of other security agencies as the Police, the lead agency in internal security is that we will continue to synergize with the military, other security forces and the vigilantes to improve our operational capacity, security dominance and tactics aimed at depriving these criminals the space they enjoy to perpetrate evil in the State.
