Two Saved By Police As Mob Parade Them Over Alleged Rituals

Police in Anambra state intervened on Wednesday, June 7, to prevent two people from being killed by a lynch mob in Ihiala Local Government Area, following false accusations that they were involved in ritual killings.

The accused, a male and a girl were seen being paraded naked by neighborhood residents in a viral video. Before the suspects were apprehended by the villagers, a man who was photographing the scene alleged that the accused had slain three people with the intent to use them in money rituals.

The victims’ corpses were piled onto a wheelbarrow and forced to be pushed by the suspects one at a time in the widely shared video.

DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, the Anambra state police command’s spokesperson, claimed in a statement that the incident was a murder case and unrelated to ritual killings.

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Ikenga claimed that as soon as the men of the command learned of the criminals’ public march, they sprang into action and saved them. He claimed that although the suspects are being treated in a secret facility, the deceased have been placed in a morgue.

“The Command operatives by 10 am yesterday 7/6/2023 rescued two victims and a suspect who was about to be lynched by an angry mob at the total junction, ihiala. To set the records straight, it is not a case of ritual killing, but a pure incident of murder. Preliminary information reveals that the two culprits a man and a woman who were humiliated and paraded as shown in the video by the angry mob were erroneously accused by the mob as they were seen at the scene where the murder took place.

“Also, both the suspect and victims are currently receiving treatment in the hospital. While the deceased has been deposited in a morgue.”

Ikenga cited CP Echeng Echeng, the Commissioner of Police, as urging restraint while the case was forwarded to the State Criminal Inquiry Department, Awka for a thorough inquiry.