An angry mob has reportedly killed a 30 years old man in the Woliwo area of Onitsha in Anambra state, Nigeria.
The incident was recorded on Tuesday the 23rd of July 2024, when a young lady was said to have entered one of the shops located in the neighborhood, when she tried calling the attention of the shop owners without success, she moved further into the shop to attract their attention only to stumble on two young men getting down in their full nakedness. Shocked by the ugly sight of homosexuality, the young lady screamed very loud and ran out of the shop in shock.
This attracted the attention of people around, who gathered and sought to know the reason for her sudden reaction. When she explained what she had seen to the gathering crowd, they rushed into the shop in anger, only to meet a helpless young man, who was later identified as David Mbama, while he was struggling to put on his cloths.
The crowd dragged David out in anger and descended on him with all manner of harmful materials, which culminated in his being set ablaze and left to burn while the growd disperesed.
Meanwhile, David’s male partner in crime was said to have rushed out and escaped before the arrival of the crowd.
Some of the shop owners in the neighborhood who spoke to our reporter confirmed the incident.
The first respondent, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the second person ran away immediately he saw the woman, while his partner in the act, Mr David, who is the owner of the shop was unlucky to escaped.
“As soon as she saw them, she alerted people around the area, but the second person quickly ran away, but Mr David was not smart enough to escape.”
One of the eyewitnesses, who identified himself as Mr Uzochukwu, said the suspect had pleaded for mercy while being dragged by the angry mob, armed with sticks, cutlasses and used tyres.
He confessed to having committed the crime and blamed it on the devil. He, however, promised not to do it again, but all that fell in deaf ears, the mob were determined to deal with him for committing what was considered a sacrilege and most importantly was that the believe that it was occultic.
Another respondent is Mrs Oforka, popularly known as Nwanyi Nnewi, a restaurant owner in the neighborhood, who spoke about the belief that the act of homosexuality was occultic and satanic. ” The young men that descended on Mr David were angry because they believed that these homosexuals are occultic and satanic. They even moved against some people who pleaded for mercy on behalf of the young man. It was that bad. I pity him, and I wonder what led him into such an evil act. “
Our efforts to get the reaction of the Anambra State Police spokesperson, DSP Ikenganyi Anthony, was unsuccessful as he did not respond to both calls and text messages sent to his telephone lines as at press time.
