A suspected ritualist allegedly disguising as a mad man was reportedly lynched on Thursday by an angry mob in Ughelli, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.
It was learnt that suspicion heightened after the suspect was seen with an “expensive Android phone” among a crowd of people patronising a trader in front of a public primary school in the area, Punch reports.
When some persons reportedly tried to approach the suspect, he allegedly pulled out the SIM card in the phone, swallowed it and fled the scene.
A man, who claimed to be an eyewitness and spoke on condition of anonymity, said everyone was surprised at how a man with a mental problem would have such a phone.
“At first, people thought that he stole the phone from somebody in the crowd, but when he started running and swallowed the SIM card, it became clear that he was not a mad man. He was caught, and they began to beat him to get information from him,” the source added.
According to the source, some persons who arrived the scene alleged that the suspect was arrested in the past by the police in the Ughelli division for swallowing his SIM card when caught discussing on the phone with an unknown person.
It was gathered that the mob subsequently caught the suspect and set him ablaze to prevent intervention by the police.
Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bright Edafe, said the motive behind the incident is yet to be ascertained.
