How man, 42, was hacked to death in land tussle

The family of a 42-year-old man, Edidiong Effiong, who was allegedly killed over a land dispute in Akwa Ibom is seeking for justice over his untimely death.

The father of the deceased, Chief Joseph Effiong, family head of Ikamaenyin in Ikot Efaha Itong community, Ibiaku Itam in Itu Local government Area of the state, said the parcel of land for which his son was killed was an inheritance.

Speaking, on Wednesday, in Itu LGA, Chief Effiong said he inherited the land from his late father in the 1930’s, and wondered why the plot of land should become a subject of dispute with the assailant several years after.

He stated that the assailant, one Ambrose Bassey Jeremiah, who allegedly murdered his son and absconded, thereafter, started laying claim to the piece of land in 2010.

The 70-year-old man said the suspect laid claim over the land on the premise that he was told that the land belonged to his family.

He said the case of the land had been in court since 2010 and the court was to give its ruling on the case on August 8, 2019, adding that a part of the land was where he built some shops.

Narrating how his son was killed, Chief Effiong said Jeremiah came to his compound with a very sharp machete, which he threw and caught in the midair thrice before dashing into the disputed land.

He said Jeremiah stormed into the land and cut off a bunch of plantain while his son, the deceased, pursued him into the land but slipped and fell. Upon seeing his son on the ground, the chief said the suspect used the machete to inflict cuts on his son body.

A friend to the deceased, who preferred to be anonymous, said he witnessed the murder of his friend and vowed to retaliate, adding that the bold act of criminality should not be allowed to go unpunished.

He said, “When my friend ran after the suspect, he (the deceased) lost balance, slipped and fall and the assailant rushed at him and started to cut his face, arm and the neck region.

"And because I was carrying two bottles as my only weapon, I was afraid that I won’t be able to contain a man with a sharp machete. I stood there thinking that he was only slapping Edidiong with the machete, not knowing that he was actually inflicting serious machete cuts all over his body."

The spokesman of the police in Akwa Ibom State, Odiko Macdon, confirmed the incident saying that the suspect carried out the act because he sensed he might not win the court case.

He said no effort would be spared to apprehend the suspect who is on the run, to face the law.