Youths of Ikot Abasi Effiom in Akpabuyo Local Government
Area of Cross River State, Tuesday night, set ablaze a herbalist, Ette Okon
Friday, after he allegedly slashed the throat of a commercial motorcyclist
(okadaman) identified as Itoro Titus, following a misunderstanding.
According to Rita Emmanuel, cousin to the slain okadaman,
trouble started when the okadaman’s wife, Ndarake, took ill a week ago after
giving birth to a child that died a few hours afterwards.
Late Titus was seeking a cure to her ailment, when his
landlord said he could help.
Emmanuel said: “On Tuesday morning, my cousin’s wife had
epileptic seizures and his landlord said he could treat it. So Itoro went to
his mother from whom he obtained N5,000, then gave the money to the landlord to
treat the woman.”
She said after the herbalist collected the money, he assured
the deceased that his wife would get well soon.
When the deceased returned home from
work at about 11p.m., he found his wife in a worse state, despite assurances of
his landlord and demanded to know from him why his wife was not improving.
A source said: “Last year, Itoro lost his first wife after
she gave birth to their second daughter. So he was worried that his second
wife, who is taking care of the two children, was going to die again.
“He asked the herbalist why his wife was getting worse, when
she ought to be improving since the man had been given the money he demanded.
“The man did not say anything. He simply went inside his
shrine, brought out a machete and cut Itoro’s throat.”
A youth of the area, who gave his name as Monday, said when
they heard shouts of pain that night, they rushed to the herbalist’s house, the
direction the shout came from, and met Itoro in a pool of blood.
He said the herbalist began threatening them with the
blood-soaked machete, which angered the youths. He said they got hold of him,
cut his throat, dumped him inside the shrine and set the place ablaze.
He said: “His body has been eaten by dogs, which he deserves
because we cannot understand why he should kill a young man for asking why the
state of his wife, who he was treating, was getting worse rather than
improving.”
Mr. Luis Samba, Divisional Police Officer for Akpabuyo, said
the matter had been transferred to the homicide unit at the Police Command
headquarters in Calabar.
Spokesman of the command, Mr. Hogan Bassey, said the matter
was being investigated.
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