The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has exhumed the body of a 26-year-old man, Nsikak Joshua, and arrested four suspects over his alleged murder in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area of the state.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Timfon John, disclosed the development in a statement issued in Uyo on Tuesday, July 21, 2026.
According to the statement, the case was reported to the police on July 14, 2026, by the victim’s 52-year-old father, who alleged that his only son was beaten to death by four men identified as Otobong Nelson, popularly known as Efok Ikid, Inemesit Robert, Utibe Clement and Victor Robert.
The father alleged that after Joshua died, the suspects brought his body to his residence, armed with spades, forced him to indicate where the corpse should be buried, dug a shallow grave within the family compound and buried the body before allegedly threatening him not to report the incident to the police.
Following the report, detectives launched an investigation and arrested Otobong Nelson and Utibe Clement on July 17, 2026, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend the remaining suspects.
Police said Nelson confessed during interrogation that the deceased had been summoned to answer allegations of threatening a neighbour with a machete.
According to the police, Nelson admitted ordering the other suspects to beat Joshua with sticks, an assault that allegedly resulted in his death.
He also reportedly confessed that after the victim died, they transported the body to his father’s residence and falsely claimed he had been killed in a hit-and-run accident.
The suspects allegedly persuaded the victim’s father not to take the body to a mortuary before burying it in a shallow grave within the compound.
Following police intervention, the body was exhumed and deposited at a morgue for preservation and an autopsy.
Reacting to the incident, the Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State, Baba Azare, described the alleged killing as barbaric and unacceptable.
He assured residents that everyone found to have participated in the alleged assault, murder, conspiracy, witness intimidation or concealment of evidence would be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the law.
