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A man from Liokom village in the Wanihem community, Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State, was on Wednesday, May 29, allegedly buried alive by angry villagers for beheading his elder brother.
The man was said to have been buried in the same grave with his slain brother.
It was gathered that the incident happened few weeks after the demise of their mother.
An eyewitness, who lives in the community, said the two brothers, identified simply as Ojemba and Obok, had no quarrel before the incident.
The eyewitness said, “Ojemba was the younger one. Obok came back from a wake service yesterday (Wednesday) morning and his wife gave him some food to eat before going to the farm to stake his yams.
“But while eating, Ojemba took the machete, which Obok had sharpened to cut yam stakes, and dealt three cuts on his brother from the behind and severed his head.”
The source explained that Obok’s wife raised the alarm and the villagers gathered and tried to arrest Ojemba.
It was learnt that Ojemba escaped to his room, where he threatened to behead anyone who came close to him.
“He went inside his room, daring anyone to come close. But three young men defied the threat, went to his room and dragged him out,” the eyewitness added.
The source said the villagers had some discussions and concluded that the incident was an abomination and insisted that Ojemba too must die with his brother.
The source added, “They tied his arms and legs and dumped him inside the grave they dug for his brother and placed his brother’s body on him and covered the grave with earth.
“He was begging and shouting that they should have mercy on him, but nobody listened. This happened a few weeks after their mother died.”
When Newsmen contacted the state Commissioner of Police, Austine Agbonlahor, on Thursday, he said, “I am not aware of any incident like that and I cannot confirm that to you.”
