Father kills 7-year-old daughter over plate of rice

By Ehi Ekhator

What would make a man kill his own daughter over a plate of rice, is the answer the people of Nto Osung community in Ikot Ekpene Local Government of Akwa-Ibom state are still searching for.

A 29-year-old bus driver, Kingsley Ekeret is presently in police custody, homicide section for, Rivers State Criminal Investigations Department for allegely beating his 7-year-old daughter for eating his rice.

Kingsley’s wife abandoned him and three kids and he has been catering for his kids alone.

According to the information gathered from a neighbour, Kingsley returned from work at about 7pm on April 12, went directly to the pot of rice he cooked before leaving home, unfortunately for him, he discovered the food had been eaten, possibly by his children, out of anger, he descended on Favour, one of his daughters, for eating the rice.

Though Favour explained to her father that she ate the food with her siblings as they were hungry, but angry Kingsley didn’t listen as he pounce continuously on her, and she died hours after.

Investigation revealed that Kingsley kept the corpse of his daughter in the same room with his two other children, age 2 and 3 were sleeping. The following day at a very odd hour, wrapped the corpse with one of his clothes, took a shovel and dug a shallow grave near his one room apartment where he fearfully buried his daughter, then went back to work as if nothing happened.

Kingsley secrete was threatened when his caretaker who haven’t seen Favour around started inquiring about her whereabout. Asking from her father, he said she took ill and was rushed to a hospital in Umuebulu community where the doctor pronounced her dead.

Not satisfied with the story, the caretaker, Ugwu insisted to see her corpse promising to assist financially in her burial, a request the father turned down.

As reported by vanguard who its correspondent questioned an anonymous resident, said that “ the caretaker informed a neighbour, one Pastor Emeka Onuoha, of Jesus Reigneth Ministry of the situation. While the accusations ensued, policemen attached to Afam Police division who were on patrol were flagged down by the Pastor, consequent upon which Kingsley was arrested and later transferred to the State Criminal Investigations Department.”

In the Homicide department, Kingsley gave a different account of what happened, this time, giving the cause of his daughter’s death to poison. He said: “ She died as a result of neglect by her mother. She left me to carter for my three children alone. I usually go out everyday to toil for what they will eat. She apparently died out of neglect.”

Later, he rephrased the story saying  , “Maybe she was poisoned. You see, being poor, I deposited my telephone with a Hausa man that sells rice, with a promise to collect it back when I pay.   It was the rice I prepared for them that morning ,without knowing it was poisoned.”

Police effort to get him to reveal the place he buried the daughter failed. He gave different locations as to where he buried her. At first, he alleged that her daughter was buried along the road, later on his way back from the hospital, he rephrased his initial statement but this time, he said that he kept the body in a mortuary at a neighbouring village, and when asked to take them to the palace, he turned around and alleged he had forgotten the exact place.

His secret unfolds when his father visited him at the police station. The father informed the operatives that his son called him on phone informing him on how he mistakenly killed his daughter.

The father narrated his son’s strange behavior even towards his wife who escaped from him leaving her kids behind to avoid his excesses.

When he realized that there was no further story to tell since his father gave him up, he reluctantly took the police and his family to the grave behind his house where parts of Favour’s body was recovered in a blue cloth. Police effort to contact the mother of the children have failed.

The Rivers state Commission of Police, Mr. Tunde Ogunsaki while responding to the incident said the act violated the child’s right to survival and development as well as lack of parental care and protection. He added that the suspect will be taken to a psychiatric hospital for a test in order to be sure of his mental state before taken to court. It is suspected that Kingsley might be mentally unstable.

Father kills 7-year-old daughter over plate of rice