June 07, (THEWILL) -A suspected cultist, who is said to have been terrorising Uyo residents and its environs, on Monday, met his Waterloo as he was lynched in a mob action, after a failed robbery incident at a popular boutique; Frankfik, along Barracks Road.
His body was dismembered at major joints before being set ablaze at number 2, Effiong Udo Akpan, street, close to the boutique.
The deceased, popularly called Tempo, according to witnesses, have been terrorising the vicinity, robbing people of cash, phones, motorcycles, laptops and other valuables.
“We were woken up by a shout of thief ooh, thief ooh, this early morning, at about 4:30am at number 2, Effiong Udo Akpan street. So, we immediately rallied the youths, who cooperated and stormed the compound.
“And while his colleagues fled, he was unlucky to be caught. The youths tried to administer instant judgement on him, but machetes could not penetrate him. It was after the boys chained his legs, cut some charms from his waist, that the cuts started piercing his body.
“Thereafter, his body was laced with petrol and set alight because he was in the habits of taking hard drugs inside the ravine of Eka street, where he used to live during the day and begins his criminal operations in the night hours”, Comrade Emmanuel Ekong, a youth activist, told THEWILL correspondent who visited the crime scene.
“Several female students of the nearby University of Uyo, bound by Eka street, have complained of being raped, with their phones, laptops and cash seized”, he stressed.
At the time of filing this report, his mangled remains were yet to be evacuated by the law enforcement agents at the entrance into Effiong Udo Akpan street, near the compound, where the robbery incident took place.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Odiko Macdon, has warned youths and vigilante groups against jungle justice, vowing to prosecute culprit in the habits of lynching criminal suspects in the state.
“Jungle justice has no place in the criminal justice system. Individuals have the right to arrest criminal suspects, but must hand them over to the Police for diligent investigation and proper prosecution”, he explained.
