The police command in Cross River on Thursday paraded a 30-year-old man who allegedly macheted his lover for failing to show up in his house on the last Valentine’s Day.

The police alleged that Amber Ubung carried out the act when his lover, Blessing Onawu, 25, reneged on her promise to spend the Valentine night with him after collecting N7,000 from him to dress her hair.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Gyogon Grimah, told newsmen in Calabar that the incident happened at Okuni in Ikom Local Government Area.

“After waiting and the said lady did not show up, the suspect, Ubung, armed himself with a machete, went to the house of Onawu, attacked and gave her several machete cuts all over her body with the intent to kill her.

“In an attempt by the victim’s mother to rescue her, he  used the same machete to inflict injuries on her.

“A team of policemen were mobilised to the scene, and the suspect was arrested with the machete.

“The suspect was transferred to SCID for further investigation and will be charged  to court as soon as investigation is concluded,” he said.

The commissioner also said that the victim and her mother were receiving treatment in different hospitals.

Why I did it…

The 30-year-old man in Cross River who matcheted his lover for failing to visit him on Valentine’s Day after he gave her money to make hair, has said that he carried out the dastardly act under the influence of “combine”, hence was not conscious of his senses.

However, when interviewed by journalists, the suspect said “I didn’t know myself that day because I had taken ‘combine’. When I went to her place I wasn’t happy because of what she had done. When I asked her why she refused to show up she started laughing.

I felt so bad and used the cutlass I was holding to injure her. When the mother came and hold me and we started dragging the cutlass; I didn’t know if in that process the knife cut her. I didn’t know myself.”

BRANDPOWER reports that nine other suspects were paraded for alleged armed robbery in different parts of the state, while two were paraded for alleged murder.

While appealing for support from members of the public in the area of information sharing to tackle crime, Grimah said that the police command would continue to do it best to maintain peace and order.

“I want to assure law-abiding citizens  that the command, under my stewardship, will  continue to make Cross River to maintain its record as the most peaceful state in the country.