
The National Assembly members of the Labour Party (LP) have raised the alarm over perceived inaction of Anambra State Government in respect of the abducted member of the state’s House of Assembly, Hon Justice Azuka, about one month after.
The lawmaker, representing Onitsha North 1 in the state House of Assembly, was abducted by gunmen on December 24 on his way to spending the Christmas with his family.
Since then, the lawmaker has not been found and his fellow lawmakers at the national level are agitated by the silence from the state government, which they say is becoming unbearable.
Hon Azuka had recovered his mandate from a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the Election Petitions Tribunal.
In a statement signed by their leader, Hon Afam Ogene, yesterday, the LP caucus of NASS said it was time to speak out.
Led by the member representing Ogbaru Federal Constituency, Hon Victor Afam Ogene, the Labour Party NASS Caucus expressed deep concern over the prolonged captivity of the LP member.
The lawmakers said they were alarmed and disheartened by the Anambra State Government’s seeming inaction and silence on the matter, which they believe has hindered efforts to secure Azuka’s release.
They, therefore, called on Governor Chukwuma Soludo to take urgent and decisive action to secure the release of the abducted state lawmaker while addressing the growing insecurity in Anambra State
They lamented that Anambra State has become notorious for kidnappings and killings by gunmen in recent times.
Ogene said: “It is time to bring sanity back to Anambra State, which has disturbingly become an open and ungoverned crime enclave.
“Even more repugnant is the criminal silence of Hon. Azuka’s colleagues in not taking the state government to task in the search for the rescue of one of their own.
“The level of carnage going on in Anambra on a daily basis is heart-rending. People live in fear as a result of the growing insecurity.
“The rate of bloodletting, kidnapping and other violent crimes in the state is fast turning the state into a killing field. And this is not an exaggeration.
“The crime that is reported in the state is just a tiny fraction of the horrendous insecurity reality in Anambra. That’s the brutal truth.
“The horrific experiences of kidnapping survivors in Anambra underscore the dire need for improved security in the state.