By Lesley Muosowo Otu
A debtor has allegedly inflicted several machete cuts on his creditor and neighbour in Ugep town, Yakurr local government area of Cross River.
The creditor identified as Friday Lekam, was on Wednesday, reportedly lured into a hidden place by one Omini Otani, who allegedly used machete on him and left him in pool of blood.
According to a family source, Lekam who earns his living by doing menial farm works, was said to be giving his daily wages to a neighbour, Ikwo to keep for him until when he would be ready to open a savings account.
“When Friday felt he had saved enough to open the account, he confronted Ikwo for his money but Ikwo told Friday that she couldn’t find the money but he should give her some time to search for it.
“At another time when Friday went again to ask for his money, the woman told him that her husband, Omini Otani had used it. This did not go down well with him but the couple pleaded to be making refund of N1000 weekly until they finished paying the total sum of N9000. So they settled for N300.
“The couple couldn’t meet up with the monthly payment and opted for a weekly payment of N300 but even that was not tenable and that was when trouble started”, the source said.
Narrating his ordeal in the hands of his debtor, Lekam said he was on his way from the farm when Omini met him and picked him on his motor bike.
“He asked me to come to his place after taking my bath which made me think that he wanted to pay the money he owed me. But on reaching his place, Omini asked me to accompany him to pick his television and DVD from a shop.
“We now left on his motor bike but he rode past the electronic shop we supposed to pick the items and headed another direction.”
Lekam said when he asked Otani where they were going to, he told him of his need to visit the toilet at the stadium.
“As we were riding, had a hunch that all is not well because the stadium is an isolated and scary place. So I asked him to stop for me to ease myself.
“I was done urinating and waiting for him, when he suddenly appeared behind me with a cutlass, and before I could realise, he started dealing deadly cuts on me.
“I screamed and tried to run but my shirt got caught up on his motor bike handle. Moreover, he was stronger than me.
“As I struggled with him, we both fell on the ground where he continued inflicting me with no one to rescue me”, says Lekam.
He added that pick was with him as Otani on hearing some voices, stopped and took off on his bike leaving him on his own pool of blood.
It was the timely intervention of some commercial motorcycle riders who git there and rushed him to the hospital.
Meanwhile, Friday Lekam has been discharged from the hospital, although he still nurses some unhealed wounds.
The Police for now, are still in a manhunt for the culprit who is still at large.
