The Akwa Ibom Police Command has arrested a 30-year-old chief priest, Eno Akpan, for allegedly killing his one year old daughter, Favour Ufot.
Akpan, who hails from Ikot Akpan Udo village in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area, is the priest of the village shrine.
The State Police Commissioner, Murtala Mani, said in Uyo on Monday, that Akpan had a misunderstanding with his wife, Blessing, which resulted to his beating her up.
Mani who spoke through the State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Cordelia Nwawe, said that during the scuffle, Blessing ran to her mother’s house and left her daughter behind with her husband.
“On July 23, the complainant, Blessing, had misunderstanding with the husband, Eno Akpan. In the process the husband beat her up.
“She left the house to her mother’s place, leaving her daughter, the deceased behind.
“The husband asked her to come back home and take the child along, she refused and the husband used machete and inflicted cuts on the back and head of their daughter and she died on the spot,” he said.
The police commissioner said that investigation was in progress and the suspect would appear in court after investigation.
On his own part, Akpan said that he had a scuffle with his wife over her lateness in returning from the market where she went to sell oysters.
He said that he used his fists on her, but by the time he picked up a machete to strike her, she pushed their daughter forward and the machete landed on her head.
Akpan said that he did not mean to hurt the girl, but her mother’s action resulted in her death.