Saturday, June 20, 2026 -A 57-year-old farmer, Akan Patrick, has been arrested by the Cross River State Police Command for the alleged murder of two individuals in the Odukpani Local Government Area.
The State Police Public
Relations Officer, ASP Sunday Eitokpah, confirmed the incident to journalists.
He disclosed that the case began on May 25, when the suspect’s wife, Regina
Akan Patrick, filed a missing person report at the Odukpani Divisional Headquarters.
She stated that her husband had failed to return from his farm in the Okong
community, noting that he typically spent a week on the farm before returning
home. After all efforts to contact him failed, she alerted the authorities.
Subsequent police intelligence and investigations ultimately led to the
husband's arrest.
During interrogation,
Patrick confessed to killing the two victims but claimed he acted in
self-defence. He stated that in November 2025, two local youths accosted him on
his farmland, demanding 14 bags of Indian hemp (cannabis) and threatening him
with firearms. Patrick reported the encounter to community leaders, who
detained and tied up the two youths for questioning. However, the community
leadership dismissed the allegations after finding no evidence that the youths
were armed. They then ordered Patrick to untie the men.
The suspect alleged that
while walking away from the meeting, the two men attacked him. He claimed
that during the scuffle, he pushed both men into a nearby river, where they
drowned. Patrick admitted he failed to report the deaths to law enforcement out
of fear, as he was actively engaged in the illegal cultivation of
cannabis.
ASP Eitokpah stated that
the suspect remains in custody and will be formally arraigned in court as soon
as the police conclude their investigations.
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