(Police. Photo by Premuim Times)
Officers of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command have exhumed the body of a 26-year-old man, Nsikak Joshua, and arrested four suspects in connection with his alleged mvrd3r in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area of the state.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Timfon John, disclosed this in a statement issued in Uyo on Tuesday.
According to John, the incident was reported to the police on July 14, 2026, by the victim’s 52-year-old father, who alleged that his only son was beaten to de@th by four men identified as Otobong Nelson, popularly known as “Efok Ikid,” Inemesit Robert, Utibe Clement, and Victor Robert.
The complainant alleged that after the victim died, the suspects brought his body to his residence armed with spades, forced him to indicate where the corpse should be buried, dug a shallow grave within the compound, and buried the body before warning him against reporting the matter to the police.
The police spokesperson said detectives immediately launched an investigation, which led to the arrest of Otobong Nelson and Utibe Clement on July 17, while efforts continue to apprehend the remaining suspects.
During interrogation, Nelson reportedly confessed that the deceased had been summoned to answer allegations of threatening a neighbour with a machete.
John said Nelson admitted to ordering the other suspects to assault Joshua with sticks, resulting in injuries that led to his de@th.
Police further disclosed that the suspect confessed that after the victim died, they transported his body to his father’s residence and falsely claimed he had been kn0cked down in a hit-and-run accident.
They also allegedly persuaded the father against taking the body to the mortuary before burying it in a shallow grave within the family compound.
According to the statement, upon receiving the report, detectives immediately commenced investigations, and acting on credible intelligence, operatives arrested Otobong Nelson and Utibe Clement on July 17, 2026.
During interrogation, Nelson made a confessional statement admitting that the deceased had been summoned over an allegation of threatening a neighbour with a machete.
He further confessed to ordering his accomplices, identified as Utibe Clement, Victor Robert, and Inemesit Robert, to assault the deceased with sticks, resulting in his de@th.
The statement added that the suspect also confessed that after the victim died, he and the others conveyed the corpse to the deceased’s father’s compound and falsely told him his son had been struck by a hit-and-run vehicle, advising him against taking the body to the mortuary, after which the corpse was buried in a shallow grave within the compound.
Following police intervention, the remains of the deceased were exhumed and deposited at the morgue for preservation and autopsy.
Reacting to the incident, the state Commissioner of Police, Baba Azare, described the alleged k!lling as barbaric and unacceptable, assuring residents that everyone found to have participated in the alleged conspiracy, assault, mvrd3r, intimidation of witnesses, or concealment of evidence would be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted in line with the law.
