How my father was beheaded, set ablaze – Son of murdered Akwa Ibom village head
How my father was beheaded, set ablaze – Son of murdered Akwa Ibom village head
The first son of Late Chief Effiong Henry Etimene village head of Nsie in Okobo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Prince Emmanuel Henry has linked the gruesome murder of his father to the ongoing Local Government politics in the area.
Prince Henry who spoke with newsmen in Uyo yesterday accused the supervisory Councillor for finance, Okobo LG Council, Nkereuwem John Edet as the mastermind of his father’s murder.
The state Police command had in a statement on Tuesday signed by its Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frederick Nnudam, declared the Supervisory Councilor for Finance, John Edet, and 13 others wanted, for allegedly connived with a youth leader identified as Usong Morrison John to murder the village head.
He alleged that the supervisory Councilor that Edet (now at large) had earlier approached his father to negotiate a possibility of returning him as councillor.
Prince Henry narrated that Edet mobilized some irate youths of his area suspected to be cultists to confront the police, which led to the death of one of them.
According to him, the cultists infuriated by the death of their member decided to descend on his father, the village head, tortured him with dangerous weapons, burnt, and later beheaded him.
He expressed grief that the father’s head was yet to be found after the mayhem by the hoodlums.
His words, “The Nsie group of villages had met and came up with a list, but the supervisory councillor and a few older men who are loyal to him decided to come up with their own list and threatened my father (village head) to work with that or be ready to face the consequences.
“But the village head insisted that the collective interests of the people must be accommodated. Now after the death of Mr Aniefiok MkpoAbasi, former youth president of Nsie village, who died on 12th July, 2020 on suspicion of drinking some local gins mixed with herbal concoction in the house of one Sunday Walter Ukoh, the village decided to investigate the cause of his death.
“Though my father, the village head had suggested an autopsy, 7 majority suggested fetish findings, which my father and others had to contribute for.
“Following the incident, some disgruntled youths and elders of Nsie village mobilised by the youth president, one Usong Morrison John and Nkereuwem John the Supervisory Councilor for Finance, Okobo Local Government Council arose from a meeting held at the village square and attacked Mr Sunday Walter Ukoh whom them suspected to have killed the MkpoAbasi.
“Scared that the father might be killed, Blessing Walter Ukoh, a police officer had to invite the police. When the police arrived, the number of cultists mobilized by the supervisory councillor prevented them from having access to the village council hall.
“The police had to open fire on the cultists, but bullets did not penetrate their bodies. One of the youths was later shot in the head by the police. Infuriated by this, the cultists on the instruction of the supervisory councillor, who had earlier ordered that my father’s phone should be seized, descended on my father (village head) with an axe, blocks and other dangerous weapons.
“They later brought in a Gee-Pee tank, carried my father’s unconscious body into it, packed some of the village council chairs into it, poured petrol inside, and then set it ablaze. They later cut off his head”. He narrated
He, therefore, appealed to the Akwa Ibom State government to please intervene and fish out the culprits and to help the family recover the late Father’s head for burial.