She said:
“On Aug. 24, we received a distress call that one pastor in a church in Calabar South had killed a baby girl, aged one year and six months. “When we got there, the heart of the child was still shaking. The suspect lied that the heart was that of a fowl. “
We have sent the heart to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital for proper analysis. “We actually heard some rumours that the police have collected money to release the suspects. “We have called the press here today for the world to know that the suspects are still in our custody and investigation is ongoing. “The police cannot release murder, kidnap or other categories of suspects without due process. We are going to charge the suspects to court immediately.
The suspect, however, denied the allegation, saying,
“I was praying for one of our members who was sick when the police came and arrested me. “The heart they saw was that of a fowl. We don’t operate any spiritual shrine in the church. “The thick blood that was seen on the altar was that of a goat and a fowl that we killed to celebrate with our members after our three-day fasting programme.’’
Mrs Faith Inyang, the 20-year-old mother of the baby, corroborated what the police said. Inyang added:
“I recognised one of the men because of his stature; he lives around our area and he normally passes through our house. “Up till now, I have not seen the body of my daughter apart from the heart that was found there.”