We never meant to kill our victims – Murder suspects

 

THREE murder suspects, who are remanded in the custody of the Cross River State Police Command in Calabar, say they regret their actions, even before being charged to court.

The three suspects namely Richard Ekpenyong (30); Ekpenyong Okon (55) and Emmanuel Samuel (20) were allegedly involved in separate murder cases involving their relatives and friends.

Southern City News gathered exclusively from the police on Saturday that Richard Ekpenyong, who hails from Akpabuyo Local Government Area of the state, had on June 22, 2015, in Calabar, stabbed his girlfriend, Bassey Archibong, to death with a kitchen knife after an argument over a missing mobile phone.

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It was also learnt that Ekpenyong Okon, who is from Nwantin-Ono-Ito in Odukpani Local Government Area, killed his 53-year-old younger brother, Warrant Officer Joseph Okon of the Nigerian Army, with a machete after an argument on January 22, 2015.

In his confession, Okon, who had long made a documented confessional statement with the police, said his younger brother pushed him to commit the crime.

He said, “The whole thing actually originated from my brother’s wife who demanded for a piece of land. I took her to our village elders in Nwantin-Ono-Ito community and they gave her the piece of land. I didn’t know that my brother had started hating me because I did that for his wife.

“Shortly afterwards, I was sick and was taken to the hospital where surgical operation was carried out on me. When my brother got the news, he wished me dead. I was wondering why that level of hatred.

“Unfortunately, some few weeks later, he came to the village and his mission was a direct attack on me. I was not at home initially when he came, but the moment I entered the compound around 10pm, he pursued me out of the house and in the process of argument, I used machete on him and he died. I regretted my action because he was my younger brother.”

Also, Richard Ekpenyong, who stabbed his girlfriend, said he regretted his action because he never thought the stab could lead to her death.

He said, “I was about leaving the house one morning when my late girlfriend, who slept in the same house with me, invited three of her friends. The moment they came, they started making demands for money over a missing mobile telephone that was stolen some time ago in my house.

“I told my girlfriend that I only had N1,500 with me at home out of which I had earlier given her N500 after sleeping with her. In the process, the friends brought sticks to attack me. She joined them too.

“I ran to the kitchen and took a knife, which I used to stab her on her tummy. I didn’t know that the stab was serious. She was bleeding when the friends took her to the hospital and I later heard that she died. I felt so sad because I did not mean to kill.”

The third suspect, Emmanuel Samuel, also regretted his action.

Speaking on the matter, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Hogan Bassey, who conducted our correspondent round the cell in the Criminal Investigation Department, said the weapons used in committing the crime had been recovered.

Bassey also said the command was still investigating the various murder cases and that the suspects would soon be charged to court for prosecution.