By Joseph Kingston, Calabar
In a bid to test the efficacy of a bullet-proof charm, a young woman, whose name was given simply as Blessing, Wednesday, shot his boyfriend dead on Nelson Mandela Street in Calabar South local government area of Cross River state.
Eyewitnesses said the young man, nicknamed ’email’ by friends and neighbours, was said to have asked Blessing to shoot at him after ‘fortifying’ himself with the charm.
Unconfirmed reports indicated that, before the incident, ’email,’ a major dealer in the Indian hemp business in the area, was with a group of his friends at the time of the incident.
Blessing’s younger brother said her sister was a friend to deceased and that, at about 11.am of that fateful day, his sister passed by the compound of the late boyfriend at the time the deceased was with his group of friends.
“By this time, they had taken local concoctions including native charms against guns and bullet shots and started testing the efficacy of the anti-gunshot charm among themselves. When the others tested it, it proved effective but the deceased chose to ask Blessing to do the shooting in his own test.
‘Unfortunately, the bullet penetrated and he slumped and died instantly. This was followed by serious confusion,” he stated.
Reports said people in the area and the deceased friends pounced on the girl and even used matchet and other weapons mercilessly on her until she was rescued by the quick arrival of the police at the scene.
A report said the police took Blessing to the police clinic in Calabar for treatment while the deceased’s body was deposited at the morgue.
When contacted, the police public relations officer in the state, DSP Irene Ugbo, confirmed the incident but added that investigations on the development were ongoing.