Indian hemp farmer arrested for m#rder in Cross River

A 57-year-old farmer, Akan Patrick, has been arrested by the Cross River State Police Command for the alleged murder of two individuals in the Odukpani Local Government Area. 

The State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Sunday Eitokpah, confirmed the incident to journalists. He disclosed that the case began on May 25, when the suspect’s wife, Regina Akan Patrick, filed a missing person report at the Odukpani Divisional Headquarters. She stated that her husband had failed to return from his farm in the Okong community, noting that he typically spent a week on the farm before returning home. After all efforts to contact him failed, she alerted the authorities. Subsequent police intelligence and investigations ultimately led to the husband’s arrest. 

During interrogation, Patrick confessed to killing the two victims but claimed he acted in self-defence. He stated that in November 2025, two local youths accosted him on his farmland, demanding 14 bags of Indian hemp (cannabis) and threatening him with firearms.  Patrick reported the encounter to community leaders, who detained and tied up the two youths for questioning. However, the community leadership dismissed the allegations after finding no evidence that the youths were armed. They then ordered Patrick to untie the men. 

The suspect alleged that while walking away from the meeting, the two men attacked him.  He claimed that during the scuffle, he pushed both men into a nearby river, where they drowned. Patrick admitted he failed to report the deaths to law enforcement out of fear, as he was actively engaged in the illegal cultivation of cannabis. 

ASP Eitokpah stated that the suspect remains in custody and will be formally arraigned in court as soon as the police conclude their investigations.