At least nine decomposed bodies were brought out from a valley in the outskirts of Calabar by the personnel of the Cross River State Police Command.
The bodies were those of women and middle-aged men.
It was not clear who they were and those that dumped the bodies inside the deep gully which had begun to bring out the stench. The gully is not far from a newly constructed tollgate constructed by Governor Ben Ayade with a heavy security presence.
Okada riders, bystanders at the scene, including policemen and other rescuers said they suspected the victims were not killed at the spot but were dumped into the valley.
However, when our reporter visited the scene, policemen had cordoned off the area and did not allow reporters to get access anymore.
A motorcycle rider, who gave his name as Effiong Victor, said they had heard gunshots the previous night around the spot but were not sure who shot the gun.
Victor said: “In the morning of Tuesday when the news broke because of the stench that was oozing from the area, we had to move there. We could count at least nine bodies inside the deep valley. We didn’t know who they were and who was responsible for their death.”
The body of a woman among the victims was covered partly by a torn wrapper across her breast.
When contacted on the phone, the Commissioner of Police, Sikiru Akande threatened to arrest our reporter if the story was confirmed to be false after visiting the scene personally.
