Woman petitions IGP over husband’s murder in cocoa farm

Mrs. Christiana Monday, of Ikom, Cross River, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) over the allegation of the murder of her husband on a cocoa farm.

She also alleged police complicity in the case.

In the petition dated Nov. 29, made available to newsmen in Calabar on Wednesday, the woman alleged that one Mr. Ubi Ikpi was responsible for the death of her husband.

She subsequently appealed to the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, and the wife of the governor of Cross River, Bishop Eyoanwan Otu, to unravel the circumstances surrounding the death of her husband.

She claimed that the alleged killer of her husband, Mr. Raphael Monday, offered her N400,000 to bury his remains.

According to the mother of three, her husband was killed on September 26, 2024, on a cocoa farm located at Block 2D/66 Cocoa Estate, Ikom, Ikom Local Government Area.

The widow said she found out about her husband’s death when he didn’t return from the farm at the usual time.

“My husband left the house on the 26th of September 2024, saying he was going to the farm with his father, only for him to be killed by Ubi and his boys.

“They took his corpse and deposited it in the mortuary without my knowledge,” she said.

Mrs. Monday said she called her husband’s line several times, and a police officer from Ikom Area Command took the call and told her that her husband was arrested by the police.

According to her, she rushed to the Ikom Area Command, where she was told to check the command’s notice board, and after checking, she could not find her husband’s name.

She said the next day, September 27, she summoned courage and went to the Area Command with her in-laws.

“When we got there, I saw the policeman I spoke with on the phone with Ubi come out from the same vehicle with a bag that I identified to be that of my husband.

“At that juncture the policeman told me that my husband was dead and that Ubi had deposited his body in the mortuary after they found his corpse in the cocoa farm,” she said.

The woman said she identified her husband’s corpse in the mortuary following her request to be taken there to see for herself.

“When we came back from the mortuary, they sent one Bishop Collins Ogar with N400,000 to bribe us not to take the matter to the Police State Command in Calabar, but we refused.

“They said we should use the money to bury my husband and that we should say it was my husband’s farm group under former Governor Ben Ayade’s government that killed him,” Mrs. Monday said.

She said that her husband was killed, leaving behind three children, thereby making her a widow at a young age.

“I am begging the IGP and Her Excellency, Bishop Eyoanwan Otu, to help me because I don’t know where to start with these little children,” she said.

Reacting to the allegation, Ikpi denied being responsible for the death of Monday.

“I am very, very innocent about that allegation—very, very innocent.

“If you want to get more information in this matter, you can book an interview with the Commissioner of Police,” he said.

Ikpi said the matter was already with the Commissioner of Police.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the state police command, SP Irene Ugbo, did not have details of the incident.

“If it is a case that is already ongoing, I cannot confirm because I don’t know whether they have reported to the Commissioner of Police, so I have to find out.

“I cannot confirm a story that I am not aware of,” Igbo said.