Tragedy struck in Umuiwuogu umuabali in Ishi-Ubomiri autonomous community in Mbaitoli local government area of Imo state as the youths of the village beat and killed a rape suspect, one Mr. Paschal Uba.
Uba, 41, was also an indigene of the village. He was suspected to have attempted to rape a woman, simply identified as Mrs. Ebere, who had gone to farm in a nearby bush on Monday.
Village sources told our correspondent that the deceased was mentally abnormal before the incident occurred.
Trouble was said to have started Monday evening when Uba had gone to the bush and saw Ebere harvesting cassava.
He was said to have quickly jumped on her from behind, an action that got the woman screaming for help.
It was gathered that some people, who heard her scream around the bush, had rescued the woman from her attacker, who it was learned, fled the village.
The villagers were said to have sent words across to the youths of the village, who organised a search party for Uba.
But, Uba could not return home until around 10 pm on Monday when he tried to sneak into his father’s house but was quickly apprehended by the youths.
He was said to have been taken to the village square that night where he was clubbed and matcheted to death by the youths, who hinged their actions against abomination.
His corpse was carried to the mogue on Tuesday by the officers of the Nworieubi Police Division.
The action led to the villagers fleeing their homes for fear of being arrested by the police.
The father of the deceased, Mr Patrick Uba told newsmen that his son returned from Lagos three years ago to the village due to hardship, since then has been engaging on labouring job to earn income adding that there has never been a report of him stealing or harassing people.
According to him, “I got a report from the villagers that my son attempted to rape one Mrs Ebere who went to her farm and the village youths chased him and he absconded. Since then I have not set my eyes on him because he did not sleep here last night, only for us to wake up this morning to hear that he has been butchered by the youth in the night while he was returning home.
“Though he is stubborn sometimes and behave abnormal, I remember the last time he acted in this manner the community resolved to apprehend him and hand him over to the police, but am surprised that nobody came to inform me about the situation. Rather they decided to murder him in cold blood without proper investigation into the matter. It was only this morning that I was informed that his corpse was lying in the village square”, he said.
The deceased mother, Mrs. Gladys Uba questioned why the village youths had to take laws into their hands insisting that his son was murdered because they felt that they were a poor family with no one to protect them..
“They conspired to murder my son because they felt we are nobody. My son has a twin sister who died last year and since then we have been in sober mood”, she cried.
She appealed to the police and the government to ensure that the murderers of his son were brought to book adding that his son did not commit the offence for which he was killed.
Efforts to reach the youth chairman Mr Chijioke Nwaiwu (aranka) and the village head Mr slyvester Duruaku proved abortive as the villagers have fleed their homes for fear of being arrested by the police.
