A man, claiming to be a native of Anambra State, was rescued by police from a lynch mob at Itam Timber Market in Itu Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom, after he was discovered carrying a carton containing the corpse of his son.
Vanguard gathered that traders at the market grew suspicious and raised an alarm when the man, whose identity remains unknown, was seen heading toward the market’s waste receptacle with a carton on his head.
An eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, reported that the man was accompanied by two young boys when he was confronted by a mob of angry traders. “Some market men held him, brought down the carton from his head, and found the lifeless body of a young boy, naked but wrapped in torn clothes,” the eyewitness recounted.
In a viral video, the man was seen struggling with people accusing him of ritualistic intentions as they demanded he remove the body from the carton. Police soon arrived to de-escalate the situation.
According to a statement by the Akwa Ibom State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Timfon John, initial investigations revealed that the man did not harm his son. “The father of three was intercepted with a deceased boy and two living boys. He informed the police that, according to his tradition, deceased males must be buried in their community, and he was on his way to Anambra State to bury his son,” ASP John stated.
The police have since taken the boy’s body to a morgue, and investigations are ongoing to clarify the circumstances surrounding the incident.
(Vanguard)
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