The Department of State Service (DSS) has submitted the report of its investigation into the abduction and murder of Akwa Ibom job seeker, Iniubong Umoren, by Uduak Akpan to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution but court filings are delayed by the preparations for the retirement and appointment of a new Chief Judge.

According to Next Edition, the matter was transferred to the DSS following the “deliberate compromise and lies told by the Akwa Ibom Commissioner of Police, Andrew Amiengheme, and the Public Relations Officer, Odiko Macdon, to cover up the crime” which triggered outrage across the country. 

Three suspects — Uduak Akpan, the self-confessed killer of Umoren; Frank Akpan, his father and accomplice; and Emem Emmanuel — were kept at the DSS’s facility in Uyo and interrogated for days.

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“That was why not long after the accused persons were transferred to the correctional centre, an action was initiated and they were transferred back to Uyo for a fresh investigation,” an anonymous source quoted by the paper said.

“A lot of new findings have been made but I am not in the  position to tell you what those findings are. But I can confirm that the report has already been forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution for further action.”

But the filing of the case at the court is suffering a setback because of the ongoing process of the retirement of Justice Godwin Abraham, the Akwa Ibom State Chief Judge, and the appointment of another, the paper said, quoting “persons familiar with the matter”.

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Uko Udom, the Commissioner of Justice, was quoted to confirm that the SSS had submitted its report to the ministry and that the case had not been filed.

“I cannot say anything about the content of the report but I can tell you that the case has not been filed yet. I can also tell you that it will be filed soon but I cannot say when,” Udom was quoted as saying.