Two people, wrongly accused of ritual killings, were about to be killed by an angry mob in Ihiala Local Government Area in Anambra state, when the police intervened.
The accused, a man and a woman, 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.
In the widely shared video, the suspects were forced to push the victims’ corpses one at a time as they were loaded onto a wheelbarrow.
However, in a statement released, the spokesperson of the Anambra state police command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the matter was a case of murder, and not connected with ritual killings.
Ikenga said the men of the command upon getting information of the public parade of the culprits, quickly moved in and rescued them. He said the deceased have been deposited in a morgue while the suspects are receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital.
Read Also: NDLEA busts ‘largest drug market in West Africa’ in Anambra State
“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 quoted the Commissioner of Police, CP Echeng Echeng as calling for calm, while the matter had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Awka for a comprehensive investigation.
