The family of the slain Akwa Ibom jobseeker has denied the organ harvesting claim by Professor Mgbeke.
Glamtush reports that the late Ms. Inuibong Umoren’s family has debunked the allegation that their daughter was murdered and her organ was harvested.
This online news platform recalls that a United Kingdom-based activist, Dr Sandra Duru, popularly known as Professor Mgbeke, had, during a recent Facebook Live session, alleged that suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central allegedly attempted to induce her with N200m to falsely accuse the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, of organ harvesting.
Natasha has since denied the allegation.
Umoren, a 26-year-old graduate of philosophy from the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, was lured and murdered by one UduakAbasi Akpan on April 29, 2021, at his father’s residence in Uruan Local Government Area of the state under the guise of offering her a job.
Akpan was arraigned before Akwa Ibom State High Court, Uyo on charge no: HU/87C/2021 and found guilty of rape and murder and later sentenced to death by hanging on August 4, 2022.
While addressing a press conference in Uyo on Saturday, the deceased’s sister, Ifiok Umoren, insisted that no part of her late sister was missing from the time of the autopsy to the time of burial.
“How can someone tell me and indeed the world that my sister’s organs were harvested?
“Did the person who accused another went and harvested my sister’s organs after burial?” she asked.
Recalling the incident, Umoren said her sister had called her that fateful morning that she was going for a job interview, but when she (deceased) failed to return home, she conducted a search and eventually discovered that she had been killed.
“On May 1, 2021, the police called and asked me to send my sister’s pictures to them.
“On May 2, 2021, the police asked me to come to the morgue for identification of my sister. On arrival, I saw her corpse and confirmed that she was the one.
”Before burial, the police took the corpse to the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital for autopsy. Two policemen and I were in the room and witnessed the autopsy. All organs in her body were complete.
“On May 18, 2021, she was buried. Throughout the arrest, prosecution and conviction of the murderer, UduakAbasi never mentioned Akpabio,” Umoren added.
Also speaking, the state Director of Public Prosecution, Friday Itim, who was a prosecuting counsel in the murder case, said UduakAbasi singlehandedly killed Iniubong by hitting her head with a stabiliser over her refusal to allow him had raw sex.
“The murderer who preyed on Iniubong to offer a job later demanded to have raw sex with her, though she wanted him to use condom.
” The incident led to struggle and argument and subsequent assault in which UduakAbasi hit her head and abdomen with a stabiliser and she died.
” After killing her, the murderer dragged her alone into a shallow grave he dug, buried her and used leaves to cover the grave,” he said.
Itim said before the victim died, she had called and informed her sister of her whereabouts and the interviewer’s phone number in case of anything happening.
He said UduakAbasi, who fled to Calabar, was tricked into returning home on the pretext that his aged father, a retired Federal Government staffer, was eventually arrested.
‘‘When he returned, the then Uruan Local Government Chairman, who is their relation summoned UduakAbasi and found out from him that he had killed the girl.
“The chairman had no other option than to surrender the murderer to the Divisional Police Officer in the area for arrest, investigation, detention and arraignment in court.
” The prosecution called 10 witnesses. At the end, UduakAbasi was convicted.
“It is, therefore, outrageous and a lie for anybody to conclude that Senator Godswill Akpabio had a hand in the murder in the state talk less of harvesting her organs,” he said.
Similarly, Adula Samson who defended UduakAbasi noted that throughout the prosecution and conviction, the prosecutor and defender never mentioned organ harvesting.
He said, “The prosecution file is in the public domain for anybody to assess. We should not assume the issue.”
The lawyer stated that a pathologist carried out an autopsy of the deceased and the certified true copy of the report is in the public domain, describing the allegation of organ harvesting as false and baseless.
