escaped being lynched by an angry mob on
Wednesday after she was allegedly caught with
N100,000, two BlackBerry phones and an
android phone.
Our correspondent, who visited the scene of
the incident around Onabanjo Street,
Oworonshoki, Lagos State, learnt that the
incident occurred around 10am.
Residents told PUNCH Metro that two ATM
cards were also found on the woman.
A resident, James Ogunkoya, told our
correspondent that when some youths saw the
woman with some money, they trailed her
into a compound.
It was learnt that the youths, who suspected
her of being a ritual killer, pounced on her
and beat her to a pulp.
Ogunkoya said, "Around 10am, I saw a crowd
around an unkempt woman. Some of the
youths picked up sticks and were beating the
woman. When I asked what was wrong, they
said they found three phones and N100,000
with the her.
"They said the woman was not mad, but was
only pretending to be mad so that she could
easily perpetrate evil acts."
Another resident said it was N50,000 that was
found with the woman.
The resident, who declined to identify himself,
said the youths started suspecting her when
she was overheard speaking like a normal
person with somebody two days ago.
"Some guys were convinced that the woman
was only pretending because they overheard
her talking with a man on Monday night. They
also wondered where a mad woman could
have found the phones," he added.
PUNCH Metro learnt that policemen attached
to the Oworonshoki Police Division were
alerted by the noise of the crowd gathered at
the scene.
A police team was said to have rescued the
woman from the mob.
When our correspondent visited the station,
the woman was seen lying on a bench near
the counter of the station.
Our correspondent noted that she had a burst
lip while her arms were bleeding.
A policeman, who spoke to our correspondent
on the condition of anonymity, said attempts
to verify the allegations were fruitless.
He said, "I have been asking the woman
questions all day, but she has just been
incoherent. She has even refused to tell us
her name. At some point, she just started
crying, so I let her sleep. I don't even know if
she is a mad woman.
"Also, when she was arrested and we searched
her, we did not find any money, phone or
ATM cards on her. Nobody has come to write
any statement here at the station."
The General Secretary, Oworonshoki Youth
Forum, Babajide Kabiawu, blamed the
incident on the fear in the minds of people
since the arrest of ritual killers in some
South-West states.
He said there was a need for the government
to set up a special task force at the
community level.
He said, "I do not condone people taking the
laws into their hands. However, it is a
reflection of the level of insecurity coupled
with the discovery of the activities of ritual
killers in Oyo and Ogun states.
"The notorious cannibal, Clifford Oji, used to
parade himself as a mad man as well. We have
also seen cases in our neighbourhood where
supposed mad people kidnapped children. We
want the government to support the
community in setting up a task force that will
evacuate mentally-challenged people."
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