UKIM ITA, ODUKPANI – The Village Head of Ukim Ita Eyo Ndem Community, Chief Samuel Ekpe-Ita, has expressed grave fears that the community may never know peace if the suspect in a recent murder case is released, revealing that the suspect allegedly drafted a list of people he intended to kill.
Speaking in an interview with NEGROIDHAVEN, the Village Head recounted the chilling events that began on Wednesday, 27th of last month, when he received information that someone had been murdered at Akai Ibonda, a neighbouring community. The victim, Okokon Akpan Eshiet, was killed and his body dumped in a toilet pit. When youths retrieved the body, they found that the head was missing.
The following day, suspicions turned to Akaniyene Ignatius Eshiet, a 30‑year‑old from Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State. When community members searched his house, they discovered blood stains on the floor and walls, appearing to have been washed with water. The suspect, however, was nowhere to be found and had taken his bed with him.
A coordinated manhunt involving community youths and military personnel led to the suspect’s arrest in a forest hideout called Otu Idim. He was found naked and attempted to escape but was apprehended after warning shots were fired. He was handed over to the police in Creek Town.
But the horror was only beginning. When youths searched the suspect’s compound, they found a fresh human head, identified as that of Okokon Akpan Eshiet. Other objects belonging to the victim – a phone, a music box, and zinc sheets – were also recovered.
Further searches revealed a shallow grave covered with ants. Together with the army, the Village Head retrieved the suspect from the police station and forced him to dig open the grave. Inside was the body of another victim, Okon Bassey Okon Ansa, a 66‑year‑old indigene of Ukim Ita in Odukpani LGA of Cross River state.
The suspect later confessed and disclosed that he had an accomplice, his girlfriend Uduak Essien, who was arrested and transferred to Calabar.
Chief Ita revealed that the suspect reportedly claimed during interrogation that he had killed 30 people in total – 23 from the community where he resided and 7 from Otu Idim. While the community has only confirmed two victims, the Village Head expressed deep concern about the suspect’s mindset.
“He claimed he was avenging the deaths of his father and brothers,” Chief Ita said. “But from what we know, his father was sick, and his mother had separated from his father because of his inhumane treatment of her long before she also died. She left here and went back to Akwa Ibom. So I do not find any credible basis for his reasons.”
When asked if he would want the suspect to return to the community after trial, the Village Head was emphatic.
“No,” he said. “If they come back to this community, they would do worse. Like the list he drafted containing the names of the persons he wants to murder, if he comes back here, he would start from where he stopped.”
He further appealed to the government for protection, noting that even if the current generation escapes, their children might not.
“Let the government do whatever they can to them so we can have peace in our community,” he pleaded. “We are also appealing to the government to help us. If we escape, our children might not.”
Another witness, Okon Effiong Okon, an in‑law of the victim, echoed the Village Head’s fears. He described discovering the first victim’s body in a toilet pit, slightly covered with plantain suckers but exposed by the previous night’s rain.
“When we got there, we met the victim’s daughter who was supposed to get married in the coming days,” he said, adding that the suspect had disguised shallow graves with plantain suckers and pineapple suckers.
“If he used suckers to disguise graves, it therefore means that many of the plantains in his compound may be people’s graves. So it is not safe for such a person to come back, not to any human society,” Okon warned.
The suspect’s brother, Itoro Uwem Ignatius Eshiet, was also arrested after taking a gun from the house and fleeing into the forest. He was handed over to the police but, to the surprise of the Village Head, was not transferred to Calabar along with his brother.
As investigations continue, the community of Ukim Ita remains on edge, haunted by the discovery of shallow graves, ritual items, and a suspect who reportedly confessed to 30 murders.
For the Village Head and his people, the plea is simple but urgent: do not let this man return.
