6 months after murdering cousin over a girl, man turns himself in

After six months of being on the run for the brutal murder of his own cousin over a girl, a 22-year-old man, Ndifreke Joseph Clement, has turned himself over to the Akwa Ibom State Police Command, claiming that the spirit of his 23-year-old cousin, Ubong Edet, has refused to allow him to rest.

Clement had allegedly slit the throat of his cousin after beating him to coma, because Edet had slept with his girlfriend.

But after being in hiding for a while, he suddenly surface and handed himself over to the police, saying Edet's spirit has been giving him sleepless nights.

“I cannot remember the exact date now, but it occurred in a night in August 2015, in the one room apartment we shared. On that day, I returned from work to meet the door locked.

I knocked on the door and waited for over five minutes before my cousin could come to open the door. When I went into the room, I saw my girlfriend weeping and blood running from her nostrils.

I asked her what happened and she said Ubong beat, wounded and forcefully had sex with her. But after opening the door for me, Ubong went away and did not come back until very late in the night.

When I asked him why he did what he did to my girlfriend, he started punching me and I retaliated.

We fought for a very long time before I could subdue him. I then picked my cow-butchering knife and cut his throat, carried his dead body and dumped it in the bush very close to the house and threw the knife into the pit toilet.

I have brought myself to the police even when nobody knew that I killed him. I have come to plead for forgiveness because since I killed my cousin, I no longer have peace of mind. I am always disturbed in my mind and dream.”

The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Cordelia Nwawe, said the suspect would be arraigned in court soon.