A suspected cultist said to be terrorising Uyo residents and its environs in Akwa Ibom State, was on Tuesday lynched by a mob after a failed robbery incident at a clothing shop, Frankfik Boutique, along Barracks Road, and Number 2, Effiong Udoakpan street, Uyo.
The victim, popularly called Ttempo, according to witnesses, had been terrorising the localities, robbing people of cash, phones, motorcycles, laptops and other valuables.
“We were woken up by the shout of thief ooh, thief ooh, this early morning at about 4:30am at Number 2, Effiong Udoakpan street. So, we immediatley rallied the youths, who cooperated and stormed the compound.
“And while others fled, he was unlucky to be caught. The youths tried to administer instant judgment on him, but machetes could not penetrate him. It was after the boys chained his legs, cut some charms from his waist, before the cuts
“Thereafter, his body was laced with petrol and set ablaze because he was in the habits of taking hard drugs on Eka Street, where he used to live during the day and started his criminal operations in night hours”, Comrade Emmanuel Ekong, a youth activist told journalists at the crime scene.
At the time of filing this report, his charred remains were yet to be evacuated by the law enforcement agents at the entrance into Effiong Udoakpan street, near the compound in which the robbery incident took place.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Supol Odiko Macdon, has warned youths and vigilante groups against jungle justice, vowing to prosecute culprits in the habit of lynching crime suspects in the state.
“Jungle justice has no place in the criminal justice system. Individuals have right to arrest crime suspects, but must hand them over to the Police for diligent investigation and prosecution,” he explained.
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