VIDEO: Friend of murdered Akwa Ibom job seeker says police demanded hired van, fuel before investigation

Umoh Uduak, a friend to Iniubong Umoren, the Akwa Ibom job seeker who was raped and killed, says police operatives had demanded that a van be hired and fueled before an investigation started.

Umoren was declared dead on Sunday, two days after going missing at which time the family had raised an alarm.

The Akwa Ibom state police had thereafter apprehended one Uduak Frank Akpan (20) for “kidnapping, countlessly raping, and then killing the victim”. The suspected killer was also said to have first buried the deceased in a shallow grave and fled.

As the case gained more attention on social media, the police stated that the deceased had been exhumed and deposited at UUTH (University of Uyo Teaching Hospital) for autopsy while the investigation continued.

But in an interview with TVC, Umoh, who can be seen shedding tears, recounted how the victim had kept her abreast of her movements as she herself proceeded from Akwa Ibom to Lagos, where she was told to resume work on May 3.

Umoh said Ini’s sister had gone to the police station to report the case when she informed her of the development.

She said the family was told by the police that it hadn’t been up to 24 hours since she disappeared, prompting Ini’s sister to return home.

“When she went back at 8:30 am (the next day), the police told her they couldn’t go with their van, that she has to hire a van and buy fuel. I called people and they sent money which she got and returned to the station,” she said.

“They said they were investigating and we heard nothing. I sent the number to people who checked with Truecaller and found it belonged to Ezekiel Akpan. People went through her Twitter and saw the post she made seeking a job.”

Akpan was said to have promised the deceased a job, fixed an appointment with her in Uyo where she would meet her death.

Umoh revealed that a previous victim (Miriam) reached out to her following Ini’s death to reveal how “Akpan had similarly invited her only to drug, rape, photograph, and blackmail her with threats of posting her nudes online.”

She added that Miriam sent the address where the incident occurred, which was forwarded to the police, at which time Akpan’s father was arrested. Akpan would later report himself to the police.

“A girl named Maryam said she was in that position with the same guy who chatted her for a job offer,” Umoh said.

“She said, when she got there, the guy drugged her, gave her weed, raped her, took pictures of her saying if she reported the case, they are going to post it online. She said they used it to blackmail her for money.

“She gave me the address and it was there they arrested the father before he took himself to the station. The sister (of the deceased) had been told that Umoren was raped countless times. She later said Umoren had been killed.

“This is not a case of her going missing. Everyone knew where she went. She sent the address to her sister. She also sent the number of the caller (Akpan) to her sister. We got his picture. The father admitted it was his son.

“People were coming out to give their statement that he has been doing the same thing to other people. So why did the police delay as of two days ago to tell us she had been killed. We don’t know when exactly she was killed.”