By Frank Ulom
A 30-year-old man identified as Amba Ubung has macheted his supposed lover for not showing up in his place during Valentine’s Day in Cross River State.
Converseer learned that Ubung gave his lover, Blessing Onawu, age 25, the sum of N7,000 to make her hair on 13 February 2024, and thereafter visit him the next day, 14 February 2024, being Valentine’s Day in Okuni, Ikom Local Government Area of the State.
Ubung, who is a farmer from the community then went to Onawu’s house and macheted her and her mother after she failed to visit him. He inflicted severe injuries on her head, legs, toes and other parts of the body.
Our Reporter further learned that Ms Onawu had told Mr Ubung that she didn’t want the relationship again.
According to Ndoma Akunobor who visited the victim on Wednesday, “I went to see a lady that was given some knife cuts in my community by her supposed boyfriend some days ago.
“She explained everything that happened. How she told him she didn’t want the relationship again, but he was still persuading.
“How he went to the house, threatened to kill her and her mum. How he started pursuing her until she fell, and he began to machete her, until her younger sister came to her rescue and was injured in the process.
“To the glory of God, she’s reacting fast to treatment.
“The mum who was also given some machete cut, is responding to treatment too at a different hospital.”
Parading Ubung and other criminal suspects at the state command headquarters, Diamond Hill, Calabar, on Thursday, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Gyogon Grimah, said: “On the 17th of February at about 1000 hours, some community leaders from Okuni in Ikom local government area reported at Ikom Area Command that one Amba Ubung ‘male’ age 30 years of the above Community gave his girlfriend, one Blessing Onawu ‘female’ age 25 years the sum of seven thousand naira (N7,000) to plate her hair and thereafter visit him the next day being 14 February 2024.
“After waiting patiently, the said lady did not show up. The suspect Amba Ubung, armed himself with a machete, went to the dwelling house of Blessing Onawu, attacked and gave her several machete cuts all over her body with intent to kill her. In an attempt by the victim’s mother to rescue her, from the bloodthirsty Amba, he in turn used the same machete to inflict various degrees of machete cuts on her.
“In a swift response, a team of Policemen were mobilised to the scene, the suspect was arrested with the machete. The suspect was transferred to SCID for discreet investigation and diligent prosecution as soon as the investigation was concluded. Meanwhile, the victims are receiving treatment in different hospitals.”
However, the suspect, when interviewed by newsmen, said he committed the act under the influence of ‘combine’ (mixed alcohol).
“I didn’t know myself that day because I had taken ‘combine’.
“When I went to her place I wasn’t happy because of what she had done. When I asked her why she refused to show up she started laughing. I felt so bad and used the cutlass I was holding to injure her.
“When the mother came and held me and we started dragging the cutlass; I didn’t know if in that process the knife cut her. I didn’t know myself,” Ubung said.
