FCT residents warned against jungle justice
Some residents of Gwagwalada Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory have cautioned against the lynching of persons alleged to have ‘stolen’ male genital organs.
The residents spoke in separate interviews with journalists on Tuesday in Abuja.
They expressed concerns following the recent outcry of some men and women in the area, alleging to have lost their genitals to suspected organ thieves.
Mr Peter Nwajiofor, a businessman, said cases of alleged missing penis and breast were on the increase in Gwagwalada as new cases keep emerging on a daily basis.
Nwajiofor said he witnessed two cases in the past week where people raised the alarm of missing genitals.
“I don’t know how true it is, but I have witnessed two cases here in Gwagwalada were people say that after responding to greetings from strangers, they discovered that their genital disappeared.
“This issue is on the increase and the police need to act fast before an innocent person is killed for an offence he or she knows nothing about.
“I don’t support jungle justice in anyway, any accused person should be handed over to the police for investigation and necessary action taken if found guilty,” he said.
Mrs Fatima Abdullahi, a public servant, said she has heard of cases of missing genitals in recent times in Gwagwalada but never believed it until she witnessed one herself in the market.
She said a businesswoman who sells grains in the Gwagwalada market alleged that a man hit her, and her two breasts disappeared.
According to her, the man ran away when she raised the alarm.
Mr Ayobami Amusu, a resident of Gwagwalada, said most Nigerians now take laws into their hands because they do not have confidence in the police.
Amusu said people prefer to handle things in their own ways, which was wrong, adding that an innocent person could be killed.
“People do not trust the police anymore; most times the victim turns out to suffer while the accused person goes free.
“The issue of missing genital is a serious one because that is what makes you a man or woman.
“I don’t know how true this issue is for someone’s genital to disappear and people are in a haste to make quick cash, so anything can happen,” Amusu said.
He called on the police to increase their mobility as crime was increasing on a daily basis.
Mr Emmanuel Ofodili, said that his 22-year-old son’s genital was stolen by someone in their neighbourhood, adding that the penis was there but smaller than the initial size.
Ofodile said his son told him that a man in their neighbourhood touched him on his head, and immediately, he could not feel his genitalia again.
He said when the man was tortured, he returned his son’s genital, adding that he had not fully regained himself.
It was learnt that Rabiu Moyi, another resident, on Sept. 20, accused a man of allegedly stealing his genitalia. The accused suffered injuries on his eye as a result of the beating.
He said the accused person was rushed to the hospital for medical attention, adding that Moyi later told the police that his genital was never missing.
A policeman who spoke on condition of anonymity said since the rumour of this organ snatching; he has not seen anybody whose organ was not there.
“These are all rumors and fabricated stories and should not be accepted. This issue has posed a lot of fear and threat in the lives of residents.
“Residents are now taking laws into their hands, beating up and killing innocent citizens for a crime they didn’t commit all in the claim that their genital was stolen,” he said.
He called on the general public to desist from jungle justice as anyone caught would be prosecuted accordingly.
