Fear has gripped the staff of a Hotel and Resort along the MCC Road, Ikot Uduak at Akai Efa, Calabar Municipal Local Government Area of Cross River State as a 41-year-old-staff of the University of Calabar, simply identified as Ubong, reportedly drowned in the facility’s swimming pool.
Report had it that the incident occurred in the wee hours of Monday, but the lifeless body of the victim was discovered in the swimming pool in the early hours of Tuesday.
A source who preferred anonymity said that the deceased went to the bar to buy some drinks and food while relaxing at the hotel.
“He came to the hotel to relax because of the intense weather condition currently being experienced in major parts of the city.
“While at the hotel, he went to buy some drinks and food at the bar. He did not even pay for the items yet, but he dropped off his phone and went to the pool without informing anyone.
“It was at about 2am in the morning when the bar man was rendering his account that he realised that a customer hasn’t cleared his bills and that was Mr Ubong.
“In his quest to find out the whereabouts of his customer, the bar man raised an alarm alongside the Manager and other staff of the resort. Then, they started looking for Mr Ubong.
“They went round the resort only to find his clothes by the poolside. They searched in the pool but could not find him that night. In the morning, they went into the swimming pool again but didn’t find him. Tension began to rise.
“As they kept searching the resort, it was between 11am to 12noon on Tuesday that they saw his body floating. They called the Police who came and arrested the Manager and the Bar man and took them to the Division B Police Station at Parliamentary Extension,” the source said.
It was gathered that the owner of the Resort, Josiah Okoye, was on the run following the incident.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Cross River Command, SP Irene Ugbo, who reportedly confirmed the incident on Wednesday night, said that the police made some arrests.
Ugbo urged the owner of the facility to turn himself in to the police.
Unconfirmed report had it that Ubong’s death was the fourth in the facility since year 2020.
