How Two Sons Killed Their Father Over N40 Million Gratuity

The Cross River  State Police Command has arrested  a man, identified as Ekemini Bassey for allegedly killing his father, a retired University of Calabar lecturer, Prof. Nathaniel Bassey, to claim his N40m gratuity.

Ekemini’s brother, Odiong Bassey, is also wanted by the police for being an accomplice in the alleged murder.

A family source, who pleaded anonymity, said Ekemini and Odiong, who are university drop-outs, had been making frivolous financial demands on their late father.

One of the sources said, “Ekemini confessed that they got some clues that their father, who was teaching on contract basis after his retirement, was about to be paid his benefits and gratuity of over N40m and they decided to kill him so that the money would be paid to them as the next of kin.”

The sources added that Ekemini confessed during interrogation that they stabbed their father three times in different parts of the body and stuffed his mouth with old newspapers so that he would not cry for help.

It was learnt that penultimate week, Ekemini and his brother killed their father and tactically dropped a knife beside him to create the impression that their father committed suicide out of frustration.

Luck, however, ran out of the brothers after Ekemini hired an ambulance to convey the father’s corpse to Nsit-Ubium in Akwa Ibom State for burial. He was accosted by security agents, who were brought by some senior staff of the university.

A source at the university said, “On getting wind of the death of the lecturer, the university security authorities swung into action and arrested Ekemini while his brother took off to unknown destination.”

PUNCH