Obi on kidnapped lawmaker: If monster of insecurity is not checked, it could consume everybody

By Monday Ajogun
Onitsha (Anambra), Dec. 26, 2024 (With additional reports)

Presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi has condemned the kidnapping of a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon Justice Azuka, warning that if the monster of insecurity in the country is not checked, it could consume everybody.

Hon. Azuka, who represents Onitsha North Constituency in the State’s House of Assembly, was arriving Onitsha to celebrate the Christmas season with his family when he was abducted in the commercial city.

Meanwhile, the Police Command in Anambra says it has recovered the vehicle belonging to the lawmaker, following an ongoing intensive operation by the command’s operatives attached to the Inland Town Division, Onitsha.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the recovery in a statement issued in Onitsha and made available to newsmen on Thursday.

He said that the lawmaker was kidnapped by gunmen at about 9:20 pm on December 24, on his way home on Ugwunabampa Road, Onitsha.

He explained that a rescue team sighted the vehicle abandoned on Upper Iweka Road.

He added that the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Nnaghe Itam, had charged the rescue team to intensify efforts for the possible rescue of the lawmaker and arrest of the kidnappers.

Mr. Obi, a former Governor of the State, in an X (former Twitter) post, noted that:

“As I have always continued to warn, if left unchecked, the monster of insecurity will consume all of us.

“These merchants of terror are becoming emboldened in their criminal acts, and if not stopped, no one will be spared.

“I sincerely appreciate everyone on the frontline of ensuring the security of lives and property in Nigeria. We must now, however, make more efforts and sacrifices to conquer this monster of insecurity.

“I appeal to the security agencies to ensure that Hon Justice Azuka is safely rescued and reunited with his family and that the perpetrators of the crime are arrested and punished. -PO.”