by crossriverwatch admin
An angry mob on Tuesday morning along Mayne Avenue by Abasi Obori in Calabar meted out instant justice on a young man suspected to have stolen a laptop from returning University of Calabar students.
The youngman whose name was given as Ime, and his accomplice were alleged to have broken into the apartment of some students at Mayne Avenue and made away with a laptop and handsets on Sunday night while the students were asleep but luck ran out of them when one of the students noticed some strange movement in the room and raised alarm.
“I saw some strange faces in the room and shouted and the thieves bolted out and tried to escape and we gave them a hot chase and caught up with one of them that night”. said Obong Ette, one of the occupants of the room.
According to Obong Ette, they were asleep in their apartment and about 1 am, the suspect and his accomplice opened the door to their apartment with a master key and removed their laptop and phones.
He said luck however ran out of the thieves when one of his roommates woke up and raised alarm and the thieves fled with their laptop and phones but they went after the fleeing thieves and one was caught and the phones he stole were recovered, set ablaze that night at the Abasi Obori market while Ime escaped. “The boy we caught on Sunday night told us that he went to the place in company of this boy, Ime, and we have been looking for him since that night until this morning when we met him in his room and brought him out”.
The mob, which attacked the suspect with fists and machetes, inflicted a deep cut on his head and neck causing blood to gush out in large quantity. “Every night we sleep with the fear of these hoodlums who keep going from place to place to rob and rape people. They should not kill him but take him to the police so that he would mention his other accomplices” Said Eno, a lady who was watching the scene from a distance.
The mob refused to take the advice of some people who pleaded that he should be handed over to the police because according to them, the police “Would only collect money and let this fellow go and come back after us”.
While blood was gushing from his head and shoulder, the young man requested for a cigarette and one of the boys brought a lit stick of cigarette to him. He was puffing at the cigarette when he collapsed on the sand near the Olumba Olumba church at Abasi Obori.
CrossRiverWatch gathered that the boys are amongst the stranded street children who are now littering Calabar streets.
CrossRiverWatch has repeatedly drawn the attention of relevant government agencies to the menace but nothing seem to be done about it with all its imminent dangers.
follow us on twitter @crossriverwatch