Nearly three months after a commercial motorcyclist vanished without a trace, the Akwa Ibom State Police Command has broken its silence on the case, uncovering a shallow grave and arresting a suspect in what has been described as a calculated robbery-turned-murder in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area.

The case dates back to November 11, 2025, when reports reached the Police that an unidentified motorcyclist was allegedly cornered in Ikot Esop Village, robbed of his motorcycle and never seen again. At the time, the disappearance sparked quiet anxiety within the community, even as no body or suspects emerged.

Police sources revealed that, behind the scenes, investigators sustained intelligence-driven operations, piecing together fragments of information while tracking movements linked to the stolen motorcycle.

That effort paid off on Friday, February 6, 2026, when operatives arrested one Emmanuel Silas. During interrogation, the suspect reportedly provided information that redirected investigators back to the crime scene — not as a robbery gone wrong, but as a deliberately concealed homicide.

Acting on this information, Police operatives were led to a secluded location where the victim’s body was discovered buried in a shallow grave. The remains were exhumed, documented and secured for forensic examination, a development that officially confirmed the worst fears surrounding the motorcyclist’s disappearance.

Investigators said the exhumation has opened a new phase of the probe, as efforts intensify to determine the exact circumstances of the killing, recover the stolen motorcycle and identify other individuals believed to have played roles in the crime.

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command described the breakthrough as a significant step towards dismantling criminal networks operating within rural communities and assured residents that all accomplices, including those currently on the run, would be brought to justice.

Residents have been urged to continue cooperating with law enforcement agencies, as the Police maintain that community intelligence remains critical in exposing crimes deliberately hidden beneath layers of fear. (TRIBUNE)