28-yr-old man kills pregnant woman for N50,000

By Tom Moses & Onuegbu Chioma
UYO—A 28-year-old man, Edet Stephen Asuquo, yesterday, made revealing statements to the Akwa Ibom State Police Command on how he was hired by a village council leader in Itu Local Government Area to kill a pregnant woman for ritual purposes.

Vanguard gathered that the suspect was arrested by the police on January 11 through the combined efforts of his brother and sister (names withheld) who reported the matter to the police, and the body was found by the police on a plantain farm.
Parading the suspect yesterday at the Akwa Ibom State Police Headquarters, Ikot-Akpanabia, Uyo, state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Cordelia Nwawe, said the suspect who was the victim’s customer, lured her to the market to buy oysters, later took her home to buy more, then killed and hid her body, hoping to harvest the foetus for rituals.
Nwawe said the suspect’s sister, who witnessed the act, reported to her elder brother who later alerted the police.
Suspect’s story
The suspect, Asuquo, told newsmen: “What brought me to the police station is because of the job given to us by a village council chairman.
“He paid five of us to kill a pregnant woman so her head and her unborn child would be used for charms.
“He said after we have carried out the job, he will give us N50,000 each. He did not give us any advance payment. After we had done the job, my brother became angry.
“He said that this is not the kind of job I should have gotten myself involved in. He called my other senior and reported the matter to him.”

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has arrested a 28-year old man, Edet Asuquo, from Ikot Otu in the Itu Local Government Area for allegedly murdering a pregnant woman.

The deceased, who came from Cross River State and whose identity is unknown, was said to be a customer to Asuquo who deals in oysters.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Cordelia Nwawe, said on Wednesday that the suspect, having sold the first part of his seafood to the pregnant woman, lured her to his home claiming that he had abundance of oysters at a cheaper rate.

Punch Nigeria gathered that

According to her, on Monday, January 11, the woman had innocently followed Asuquo to his home, where she was killed and her corpse hidden near a plantain tree on the premises.

The police said the suspect and four others at large wanted to remove the foetus from the woman’s wombs at night.

She said, “The suspect and those at large were contracted by a village leader for N50,000, to kill a pregnant woman and remove the woman’s head and the foetus for ritual purpose.

“Luck, however, ran out on them as Asuquo’s sister reported the matter to their elder brother, who invited the police.

“The pregnant mother had gone to the market to buy oysters from Asuquo. The man lured her to his house to buy more oysters. The unsuspecting pregnant woman was murdered there.”

Asuquo, confessed to the crime, saying a leader in his village gave a job to him and his friends to kill a pregnant woman for N250,000 so that he could use the foetus for sacrifice.

He said, “We are five that were asked to kill a pregnant woman so that her head and her unborn child would be removed and used for ritual purpose.

“He told us that after we have carried out the job, he will give each one of us N50,000. He did not give us any advance payment. After we had done the job, my sister reported the matter to my elder brother, who in turn called the police.”