Ndoma Richard|27 March 2018
The chiefs and people of Ikot Omin community in Calabar Municipality Local Government Area of Cross River State have called on the state Commissioner of Police Mr. Hafiz Inuwa, to prosecute the suspects arrested recently in connection with the assassination of village Head of Ikot Abenyo community, Ntufam Ekong Itu Omin on February 26, 2018 in Calabar.
Speaking with journalists in Calabar yesterday on the issue, Counsel to the community, Barr. Ayei Okpa who spoke on behalf of the community on the issue, lauded the police for achieving the feat of arresting the suspected masterminds of the murder but charged the police to with no delay prosecute the suspects in court while intensifying efforts to arrest all other suspects who are still at large.
The Ikot Omin people charged the state police command and government of Cross River State to seize the momentum of the arrest and do justice to the community stressing that the arrested suspects in Ntufam Omin’s murder now in police net may also be connected with series of assassinations that the Calabar metropolis has witnessed in recent times.
“It was a stroke of fate the uncovering of the suspected murderers of late Ntufam Ekong Itu Omin, was a byproduct of investigations launched by the state police command into recent secret cult clashes within the Calabar metropolis”. Okpa maintained.
Okpa while lamenting on the issue said,”Ikot Omin community has for some time now been held down a by ferocious behemoth which manifested as a nest of assassins wrestling for the control of the community’s resources and stool”.
“This evil group has foisted an orgy of unprovoked violence and bloodletting on the community and held the community to its tenterhooks” The community lawyer queried.
The community urged the Cross River state Government and the police authority to thoroughly investigate the roles played by one community leader, Chief Asuquo Ekpenyong and one of the community youth leader Mr. Edim Edim in the murder of the late village head.
Okpa said, “now that some of the suspects have started making useful statements to the police and even confessed the role played by a community leader, one Chief Asuquo Ekpenyong, and community youth leader, Edim Edim, the police should investigate further the connection between the evidence sought to be given in court by Ntufam Omin on Tuesday February 27, 2018 against Chief Asuquo Ekpeyong.
Counsel to the aggrieved community however maintained that the traditional ruler was murdered by assailants as he was scheduled to report at the office of the Inspector General of police IGP monitoring squad Abuja on February 28, 2018 to testify in an on-going investigation over an alleged case of forgery of certificate of recognition he reported against one of his kinsmen, one Chief Asuquo Ekpeyong.
“He was in IGP’S office on the 20th, 21st, and 22nd over the said investigations and returned to Calabar on the 23rd February 2018 and was murdered in a bizarre and most cruel circumstance on February 26, just two day when he was supposed to return to the IGP’s office to provide additional evidence in the forgery investigation against Chief Asuquo Ekpeyong.
The community stated that for the interest of justice and peace to reign in the community, the police should also investigate the involvement of the suspects now under their custody in the 2017 assassination of the then clan secretary Chief Omin Omin and the assassination attempt on the life of prince Edim Omin Edim last year in a similar circumstance just as the gruesome butchering of late Ntufam Ekong Itu Omin.
He said that it is instructive that since the arrest of the suspects and the going into hiding of their collaborators, peace that has since eluded the community, has gradually returned to the community’s night life is gradually spring up anew.
The community lawyer said, “While from the confession volunteered by a key suspect in the aforesaid murders, it has now been made public that certain sums exchange hands between the masterminds and assassins for hire of services, it will not suffice to stop at that without intensifying efforts to ensure the arrest and prosecution of collaborators like Saviour Bassey Etim, Edet Omin, Bassey Etim Omin, Ekpo Asuquo, Koko Usang who had all been implicated and mentioned in the murders”.
The community stressed that it was only in doing this, that the police authority can be seen to have assuaged the hard ships suffered by the community, and ensure justice for families of victims of these murders.
However, the Police Public Relations Officer PPRO, Cross River State Command, Irene Ugbo who reacted to allegations that the police was doing nothing on the matter said why would any one think that the police had been putting a luke warm attitude towards an issue which involves death.
Ugbo stated that the police authority is doing every thing humanly possible to ensure that suspects not only on the matter was prosecuted but all suspects who involved themselves in criminal matters are properly investigated and prosecuted by the law of the land.
