TRAGEDY : 25-year-old man butchers cousin

CALABAR—Tragedy struck, weekend, at Odukpani Qua town in Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State, when a young man, identified

as Joseph, killed his cousin, Miss Ekaette Edet, with an axe, an action suspected to be cult-related.

We gathered that the incident, which took place around 4a.m. on Saturday, came as a shock because there was reportedly no rift between the two.

A relative, who pleaded anonymity, told us that when Joseph came back on Saturday night, he acted a bit strange and they didn’t really understand what was going on with him.

However, a friend who confided in members of the family hinted that he was recently initiated into a cult.

According to the source, “the victim was a maternal cousin to Joseph and they have been living together without any misunderstanding.

“I know this because he even assisted her with some material in her mock WAEC exams. So we really don’t know what went wrong.”

She alleged that one of his friends had hinted them that he was recently initiated into a cult group, adding “it was like an assignment given to him because they didn’t quarrel the previous day.

“All we heard suddenly were shouts from the room and by the time we got there, she was already in a pool of her blood.

“He cut her head open with an axe and before we could get her to the hospital, she gave up and as I speak to you, Joe is still at large.

“The girl was just 19 years old and she was in Senior Secondary School writing her mock in preparation for her WAEC exams. We don’t really know the devil that got into him (suspect).

“We had to bury her immediately at Ekepne here in Odukpani, because there is no need to keep her body.”

Contacted, state Police Public Relations Officer, Irene Ugbo, said that investigations were still ongoing as they were searching for the suspect.

“We are aware of the matter and we are seriously searching for the boy and I can assure you that he will be apprehended,” she assured.

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