A suspected assassin, Mr. Edet Asuquo, yesterday made a chilling
confession at the Akwa Ibom State Police Command Headquarters of how he
was hired to kill a pregnant woman for ritual. The suspect said he was
hired by a chief in Ikot Itu village.
The pregnant woman, whose name is yet to be ascertained, hailed from
Ogoja in Cross River State and was described a very ‘customer’ of her
killer. Asuquo was arrested by the police on Monday through the combined
efforts of his brother and sister (names withheld) who reported the act
to the police. It was gathered that the body of the deceased was found
by the police at a nearby plantain farm.
The PPRO explained that the suspect had lured the pregnant woman to
the market to buy oysters and later took her home to buy more but
instead murdered her and hid the body with the hope of removing the
foetus for ritual. Nwawe said the suspect’s sister, who witnessed the
act reported to her elder brother, who later alerted the police.
Asuquo, according to Nwawe, was contracted by a chief in his village
(name withheld) now at large, to kill the pregnant woman in order to
remove her foetus for ritual. Nwawe explained that the suspect with four
others, now at large, were each promised to be paid N50,000 by the
chief for them to provide him with a foetus for ritual to enable him to
win election into the village council.
The PPRO, who warned residents of the state to always inform those
living with them of their whereabouts, said the suspect would soon be
charged to court while investigations continued into the whereabouts of
the other suspects. Asuquo said: “What brought me to the police station
is because of the job given to us by the man (name withheld) who
promised to pay five of us to kill a pregnant woman so that her head and
her unborn child would be removed and used for charm in order that the
new council chairman would not be appointed.
“He said that after we have carried out the job, he would give
N50,000 each. He did not give us any advance payment. After we had done
the job, my brother became angry. He said that was not the kind of job I
should have got myself involved in. He called my other elder brother
and reported the matter to him and they alerted the police.