The operatives of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command have arrested one Nsikak Effiong and the manager of Mbiokporo Cemetery, Elijah Edet, for allegedly plotting to exhume a newly buried corpse with a view to selling the casket for financial benefits.
The Command’s Public Relations officer, Timfon John announced this in a statement released to newsmen today in Uyo, the state capital.
She stated the event occurred on August 3, 2026, around 11:30 pm in Nsit-Ibom, after a distress call from a vigilante operative, who reported strange activities at the cemetery, and saw two guys conveying a casket on an unregistered motorbike.
•The coffin discovered
The vigilante operative took on the suspects, said the command’s spokesman.
However, in an attempt to escape capture, one of the suspects, Effiong Asuquo, escaped the scene while his accomplice, Effiong, was arrested and handed over to the police.
During interrogation, Effiong admitted that he and his accomplice exhumed a corpse that was just buried, took the corpse out of the coffin and stole the casket with the aim of selling it to make money.
The PPRO further stated that the police have recovered the empty coffin and unregistered motorbike and said that investigation into the crime has started to unravel the circumstances behind the crime and all those involved to the act.
She further added that the cemetery manager was arrested on August 5, 2026 at around 5:00 pm after further investigation and during interrogation the suspect confessed to conspiring with the grave diggers in the commission of the offence and that it was his first time in such criminal activity.
“The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has recorded a major breakthrough in the investigation of the illegal exhumation of a fresh corpse and casket theft at Mbiokporo Cemetery, Uyo, with the arrest of two suspects including the manager of the cemetery while efforts have been intensified to arrest another accomplice who is still at large.
The event was reported on 3rd August, 2026, at around 11:30 pm, after a member of the public raised the alarm about strange activity at the cemetery. The member of the public had spotted two guys carrying a coffin on an unregistered motorbike in the dead of night.
On suspicion, the complainant addressed the suspects to know what was going on about the transfer of the casket at an unusual hour. One of the accused, Effiong Asuquo, escaped from the site in a bid to elude capture but his accomplice, Nsikak Effiong was arrested and quickly given over to the police.
During interrogation, Effiong revealed that he and his partner had dug up a corpse that had just been buried, taken it from the casket and took the casket, so they could sell it for profit.
The police found the empty coffin and the unregistered motorbike used to deliver the stolen property and investigations were immediately extended to unravel the complete circumstances surrounding the crime and identify all those linked with the act.
Another breakthrough was recorded on 5th August, 2026 at about 5:00pm after further investigation with the arrest of one Elijah Matthew Edet, the Manager of Mbiokporo Cemetery. In the course of interrogation, the suspect confessed to having conspired with the grave diggers on the conduct of the offence and said it was his first involvement in such illegal activities, “ the statement read.
The state Commissioner of Police, Baba Azare, condemned the incident as “barbaric, sacrilegious and a gross violation of the dignity of the dead,” the PPRO added.
He further commanded that the investigation should be extensive, intelligence-led and properly conducted so that all persons involved in the crime are identified, apprehended and prosecuted in accordance with the law.
The CP also appreciated the vigilance, courage and sense of civic responsibility shown by the vigilante cop whose timely intervention and report led to foiling the suspects’ bid to escape with the stolen casket.
The police boss called on the residents to stay security vigilant and continue to give timely, credible information to the police.
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