A 32-year-old
man, Mr. Simon Mbam, of Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State has
committed suicide after he was tortured by some villagers for allegedly stealing
N1,000 from a shop in the market.
The victim,
who jumped into a pond in the area last weekend, found himself in the mess when
he left his house in the evening of the fateful day to buy drinks with his
friends.
While late
Simon and his friends were busy sipping their drinks, the owner of the shop
raised an alarm over a missing N1,000 in his carton of drinks, but no customer
admitted to have taken the money.
The alarm
raised by the shop owner attracted villagers who stormed the scene and gave the
suspects till the following day to return the money or face the consequences.
It was
learned that the said missing money was found at the door step of the shop, but
when the villagers who were determined to get to the root of the matter
gathered, the owner of the shop insisted on knowing the person behind the act.
The suspect, who later confessed to the crime, was
allegedly beaten by the irate villagers until he started bleeding and losing
consciousness.
They demanded
that he should be treated like a thief, even as he was fined two goats, two
crates of beer and N5,000, which were immediately provided by the suspect’s
mother (names withheld).
It was
gathered that the village head rejected what the suspect’s mother brought,
insisting that an additional N5,000 should be provided so that the matter would
be completely resolved without involving the police.
This second
demand by the villagers made the suspect, who felt humiliated by the entire
process, escape from his captors and jumped into Aku Pond, which was not far
from the market square.
All efforts
to rescue him on time proved abortive as he drowned before his body was
retrieved by the villagers.
Meanwhile,
four persons including the village head had been arrested by the police after
the mother of the victim reported the matter.
a waste of life
ReplyDeleteVillagers should be educated on the repercussion of jungle treatment
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