A pastor and an usher of a new generation church narrowly escaped death after they were accused of stealing the genitals of a young man in the New Layout area of Kanshio, Makurdi, Benue State.
The incident happened on Saturday evening when a young man raised an alarm that someone had snatched his genitals. A mob quickly apprehended the suspect, who was an usher in the church, and beat him mercilessly until he implicated his pastor as the mastermind of the crime.
The mob then stormed the pastor’s house and dragged him out, along with his family. They stripped him and his usher naked and continued to torture them, ignoring their pleas of innocence.
The police’s quick action, which involved saving the victims and transporting them to the “B Division” Police Station for questioning, prevented a worsening of the situation.
At the police station, it was discovered that the whole allegation was false and that no one had lost his genitals. A doctor examined the young man who raised the alarm and found him to be healthy.
The police public relations officer, SP Catherine Anene, confirmed the incident and condemned the act of jungle justice by the mob. She said that there was no evidence of any genital theft and that such claims had never been proven in the past.
She said that the police were investigating the matter and that no arrests had been made yet. She also advised the public to refrain from taking the law into their own hands and to report any suspicious activity to the police.