A Purchasing Officer with the University of Calabar, Cross River State, Mr. John Odu (pictured above), has allegedly been killed by the relatives of his wife, Nancy, after a marital squabble.

Residents of the area said the alleged killing was due to a fight between the couple, who were blessed with two children aged 21 and 19 years. The fight led to the biting off of the wife’s nose.

PUNCH Metro learnt on Saturday that the couple, who resided at 23 Uduakobong Street, off Edim Otop Street, were childhood lovers during their secondary school days and eventually got married in the late 80s.

However, prior to the incident, the relationship between the spouses, who hail from Ntamante in Boki Local Government Area of the state, had plummeted due to frequent fighting and quarrelling.

It was said John bit off his wife’s nose in August 17 to free himself from the intense pains he was going through when the latter grabbed his penis during a fight.

A source in the adjoining building, who craved anonymity said, “We heard the man screaming and begging for his wife to let go his genitals but she would not, so the man started crying and at a point, we heard the lady crying too. It was later that we discovered that the man bit off the wife’s nose.

“After that fight, John took his wife to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital where the nostril was stitched and the woman was admitted.

“It was when he was returning from the hospital the following day that some members of the wife’s family accosted him close to his house and beat him until he became unconscious and they left him lying there in a pool of blood.”

John died on the way to the hospital, while his remains had been deposited at UCTH’s morgue.

When contacted, the Director in charge of stores in the university, Mr. Effiong Enang, said, “When I heard that the man was dead I contacted the Bursar of the university, who is the head of our unit and he asked me to confirm if it was true. I went to the house and found out that it was true. We took the body to the anatomy section.”

A source at the Airport Police Station in Calabar, where the case was first reported said the matter had been transferred to the D4 Department of the State Criminal Investigation Department.

A Deputy Superintendent of Police simply identified as Mr. Joe, in charge of the Homicide Unit said, “The family had taken some policemen to Abuja where we tried to locate the chief suspect but he escaped. He can only run for now we will certainly get him.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. John Umoh, said the name of the chief suspect was being kept secret in order not to alert him that he was on the wanted list. He added that efforts were on to track him.

Source: Punch