A man, Okon Edet has been arrested by the Akwa Ibom State Police command for allegedly beating his father to death during an argument over a plot of land.

The unfortunate event was confirmed by the Command’s spokesman, Odiko Macdon, while parading the suspect and 55 individuals who were arrested for various crimes.

While 54 of the suspects were nabbed for crimes ranging from kidnapping to robbery and cultism, Edet and another were accused of killing their parents.

According to the police mouthpiece, Edet murdered his 75-year-old father, Chief Edet Okon Oyoho, with a machete after confirming that he sold a plot of land he had already gifted to him.

Macdon said the other murder suspect, Nkereuwem Umoren Ekpo, also macheted his 90-year-old grandmother, Martina Udoudo Akpan, to death and absconded with her N16,750.

The police spokesperson revealed: “On March 13, 2024, following reliable intelligence, operatives of Okobo division arrested one Okon Edet ‘M’ of Uruting Village in Okobo LGA for killing his father, one Chief Edet Okon Oyoho, ‘M’, aged 75, of the same address, by beating him mercilessly with a machete, leading to his demise. The suspect confessed to the crime.

“His reason for perpetrating the heinous crime was that he got information that his father, now late, who owns many parcels of land in their community in Okobo LGA, had sold many of the lands, including the one he gave to him as his son to build a house.

“So, he confronted his father and confirmed that the information was true, and he asked his father for the money he got from selling the land, and the father replied that the buyers hadn’t paid. So, he got angry and beat him to death.

“Similarly, on February 25, 2024, at about 1400Hrs, one Nkereuwem Umoren Ekpo ‘M’ of Adiasim Ikot Udo Village in Essien Udim LGA, was arrested for the murder of his grandmother, one Martina Udoudo Akpan ‘F’ of Onuk Nkop Ekpo village, aged about 90 years.

“The suspect was alleged to have used a machete to cut his grandmother’s neck while they were cutting cassava stem in the farm, which eventually led to her death, and untied the sum of N16,750 from the deceased’s wrapper and absconded.”

The PPRO highlighted that 54 individuals were apprehended for a range of offences, including kidnapping, robbery, and cultism.

Additionally, it was emphasized that the Commissioner of Police, Waheed Ayilara, is dedicated to ensuring the provision of efficient security in the state, aligning with global standards of excellence.

“In the last month, a total of four kidnap victims have been rescued including a woman who faked her own kidnap; 18 arrested for armed robbery, 11 for murder including two young men who killed their fathers, and 23 arrested for cultism and other vices,” Daily Trust quoted the police PPRO saying.