According to a statement issued on Friday by the Command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, acting on credible intelligence, stormed an apartment in Umuike Village, Awka, on Thursday, where they recovered an abandoned fabricated AK-47 rifle and a magazine without ammunition.
The Anambra State Police Command says it has recovered a fabricated AK-47 rifle and launched a manhunt for a suspected murderer who escaped arrest in Awka, the state capital.
According to a statement issued on Friday by the Command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, acting on credible intelligence, stormed an apartment in Umuike Village, Awka, on Thursday, where they recovered an abandoned fabricated AK-47 rifle and a magazine without ammunition.
The recovery was linked to ongoing investigations into a case of conspiracy, murder, and unlawful possession of firearms, in which two men were brutally killed at Okochi Village, Okpuno, Awka South Local Government Area.
Ikenga said the principal suspect, identified only as Nwajagu, was traced to the apartment but fled through the back door upon sighting the police.
“The Command hereby assures that efforts are being intensified to apprehend and bring the fleeing suspect to justice,” the statement said.
“Meanwhile, the firearm has been recovered and taken into custody as an exhibit.”
The police appealed for public cooperation and pledged to provide further updates as the investigation progresses.
This is not the first time police have recovered abandoned firearms in the state. In July 2025, officers of the command retrieved an abandoned AK-47 rifle discovered in a partly constructed residential building in Ihuowele Ngo Village, Igboukwu, following a tip-off.
Investigations at the time linked the weapon to a suspect identified as Samson, who has reportedly been missing from the area since June 2024.
In February 2024, police operatives retrieved two AK-47 rifles stolen from police facilities—one from Zone 13 Headquarters in Ukpo, attacked in 2021, and another from the Area Command Headquarters in Ogidi, attacked the same year.
In October 2023, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad foiled a robbery along the Ebenebe–Achalla road, forcing fleeing suspects to abandon two AK-47 rifles loaded with ammunition, which were later recovered by police.
In July 2024, the state command reported the arrest of 200 suspects within two months and the recovery of 20 AK-47 rifles, along with locally fabricated firearms and pump-action guns.
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