A middle-aged man, Okom Eke, has reportedly died in Akanu Item in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State, after ingesting a substance he allegedly procured to poison his younger brother.
Eke’s cause of death was revealed when the supplier of the poisonous substance, who is a herbalist from a near-by village, confessed to the act, saying he had been in the trade for a long period.
The herbalist was quoted as having said that the deceased had ‘stupidly drunk about a teaspoon full of the substance in his house to ascertain its efficacy before he left’.
Our correspondent gathered that the deceased’s grouse with his younger brother, Uzorma Eke, was that he had become richer than him and was building a house in their parents’ compound.
“Can you see how envious some people could be, even against their own blood? What offence did the brother commit by becoming richer and embarking on the project?,” the source asked.
It was learnt that the brothers had been living together in the family’s one-room and parlour apartment until the younger one decided to embark on the new building project.
The source further said about five years ago, the brothers were living happily in the village until the younger one relocated to Kano, where he went into palm oil business and made some fortunes.
“After having made some money, he decided to come home to embark on the project, which he handed over to his brother to supervise, not knowing that he had incurred his wrath,” he said.
Another source in the remote community, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed the death of the elder brother “under mysterious circumstances,” saying he was not aware of such a confession.
As at press time, our correspondent was still making efforts to reach both the family of the deceased and the herbalist, as the latter was said to be “out of the village
now.”
Efforts to speak confirm the incident from the Abia State Police Command also proved
abortive.
