By Frank Ulom
CALABAR (CONVERSEER) – Fear has crept into the hearts of residents of Calabar following the behe@ding of a teenager identified as Daniel Ekanem by suspected ritualists.
The incident which happened a few days ago behind the Cross River Basin Authority at Ikot Effanga Mkpa, Calabar Municipality, has thrown the community into panic.
According to Daily Post, the body of the 18-year-old was discovered along the swampy stretch of River Cross (Cross River) on 19th August 2025, five days after he was declared missing.
Ekanem, a native of Ikot Offiong in Odukpani Local Government and resident of Lemna community in Calabar Municipality, was said to have gone to get vegetables from the farm behind Basin on 14th August 2025 but did not return home.
His dcomposing body was, however, discovered five days later, following a frantic search mounted by his family.
When the remains were found, his he£d had been severed from the body, raising strong suspicion of ritual murder.
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Family members told journalists that the deceased had gone to harvest vegetables in the swamp before he went missing.
His he@dless corpse, later found in the same area, has not only devastated the community but also sparked renewed fears of ritual k!llings in Calabar.
Commercial and farming activities in the swamps have since been grounded as a result of the fears, as farmers and residents fear for their own safety.
Confirming the murder, the State’s Commissioner of Police, CP Rashid Afegbua, described the k!lling as tragic. He commiserated with the victim’s family, assuring them that investigations were ongoing.
“Justice will be served,” CP Afegbua promised.
He disclosed that tactical units of the Command, including the Dragon Squad and the Ikot Omin Division, have been deployed to pursue credible leads.
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Meanwhile, leaders of Ikot Effanga and neighbouring Ikot Ene-obong communities, where the corpse was discovered, have pledged full cooperation with security operatives to unravel those behind what many now fear may be the latest case of ritual k!lling in the state.
