Man kills lover, commits suicide

Man kills lover, commits suicide
Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Photo: Sun Publishing
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Tragedy struck at Oban village in Akamkpa Local Government Area of Cross River State as two love birds were found dead in a pool of their own blood on the eve of Valentine’s Day on Saturday, February 13. The death described by most people within the community as the horror of the year, threw residents of the compounds and its environs into palpable fear and confusion as a good number fled for fear of police arrest.

The horrific scene played out when the two lovers, Emmanuel Udofa, 30, and Mercy Udom, 26, died as a result of a tragic love affair. Udofa was said to have stabbed his lover, Mercy to death and subsequently committed suicide by hanging himself on a ceiling fan in the room.

An eyewitness account told Daily Sun that some neighbours raised the alarm when they discovered the lifeless body of Mercy lying in a pool of her blood and the body of her lover, dangling from a ceiling fan in their one room apartment.
The account further has it that a misunderstanding ensued between the two lovers the previous night at about 11p.m and later resulted into a fight which culminated in the harvest of deaths.

Though the account could not say exactly the cause of the misunderstanding, another source close to the lovers told Daily Sun that a few days before the ugly incident, Emmanuel had confided in some of his friends that his woman, Mercy, was giving him a lot of nightmare as a result of her unfaithfulness and randy nature.

The highly dependable source said that the late lover boy had complained bitterly that at every slightest opportunity, especially during any festivities, (Christmas, New Year, Easter and then Valentine day) the girlfriend had always made life miserable for him as she has always given one excuse or the other to travel out of the village ostensibly to go and visit the parents at Uyo in Akwa Ibom State.

The deceased was said to have disclosed that for the past three years running, he had never spent valentine with her lover, Mercy, as she always gave an excuse that she was traveling to Lagos for a camp meeting of one of the pentecostal churches or going home to see the aged mother. This has kept the guy quite miserable as the lover suspected she kept a secret affair with another lover in Lagos.
And as this year’s valentine approached, the late Mercy had, of course, indicated interest to travel as usual for a camp meeting and requested for transport fare, which the guy turned down. This did not go down well with her.

Not wanting to be caught unawares this time, the source said, Emmanuel started plotting on how to enjoy his Valentine with another new babe, while Mercy was hustling around to raise money to go o Lagos. The bubble was said to have burst when Mercy got wind that his boyfriend’s new lover had sent a text message notifying him of their pre-valentine dinner meeting at one of the popular joint at Akamkpa town.
Mercy on the evening of the arranged dinner, stole into the venue to confirm whether the message was through or false. There, she was shocked to the bone marrow to see his heartthrob having good time with another younger damsel.
Disappointed and heartbroken, she went back to the house and started packing her belongings. As she was doing that, her boyfriend strolled in majestically like a king and went straight to bed not caring a hoot about the feelings of Mercy. This, indeed, angered her and she confronted him, and a scuffle ensued.

However, the incident has generated a lot of questions from many residents of the area who wondered why the two lovers decided to act out such tragic play barely 24 to Valentine’s Day celebration. They also questioned why the lovers chose Oban as the setting for their version of Romeo and Juliet.
Meanwhile, the corpse of Mercy had been deposited at the morgue of General Hospital, Akamkpa while that of his lover, Emmanuel, was later taken to his village for burial after some traditional rites were performed.
It was reliably gathered that Mercy Udom is an indigene of Abiakpo Ikot Essien while Emmanuel Udofa hails from Uruk Uso in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area.