A 42-year-old man, Mr. Nkwuda Chukwudi Vincent, a native of Ndiogbu in Ndieze autonomous community, in Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, allegedly cut off his cousin’s, Mr Nkwuda Chukwuka’s, throat for demanding some branches of a felled tree on the family land.
The incident, DAILY POST gathered, occurred on Monday when the suspect, Mr Nkwuda Vincent, who is an assistant catechist of St Samuel Station, Ndiogbu, in Ndieze autonomous community, cut down a tree on the boundary of their land.
According to the victim, Mr Chukwuka, who spoke to DAILY POST from his hospital bed on Tuesday at Sudan Missionary Hospital, Iboko, trouble ensued when he found his cousin, Mr Vincent, cutting branches from a tree on their land.
He explained that the suspect claimed that the victim’s father had instructed them to cut down the tree to be used as stakes for their yams.
Narrating his ordeal, the victim said, “It was on the weekend that I went to our land where I found my cousin cutting sticks from a particular tree, and since the tree was on our land, I asked him who authorized the cutting.
“Mr Vincent claimed it was my father’s directive, but when I asked for an equal share of the sticks, he became aggressive, leading to an exchange of words.
“When it became clear that he was about to attack me with a cutlass, I used a log of wood to defend myself, but to my surprise, he struck my throat with the cutlass. It’s by the grace of God that I survived.”
The victim, who expressed disbelief at his cousin’s unruly behaviour, called on family members and community leaders to investigate the matter and ensure justice is served by punishing the offender.
“I’m grateful to be alive to tell the story, and I believe both of us belong to the community and family, who should ensure that justice is done in this matter and the perpetrator is punished to deter anyone from such aberrant behavior in the future.”
Confirming the information, a family member, Mr. Nkwuda Jude Ginika, described the incident as horrific, adding that they are still treating the victim to ensure he recovers from his injuries.
Mr. Jude clarified the family’s stance, stating that the matter has been reported to the security agency, and the Iboko Divisional police have taken records of the incident. He reiterated that the offender would be punished according to the traditions of the people.
Meanwhile, efforts to reach the accused person have proven futile as his phone number was switched off at the time of filing this report.
When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Joshua Ukandu, told DAILY POST that the incident had not been reported to the command.