The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has arrested four persons over the mob killing and secret burial of a 21-year-old man, Emmanuel Effiong.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, disclosed this in a statement released.
According to the statement, the investigation began after the police received credible information on June 17, 2026, that the deceased was br#tally ass@ulted by a group of individuals. In a viral video, the victim was seen lying helpless in a pool of blo@d with his hands and legs tied before being dragged along the ground beside a white Mitsubishi pick-up van.
The police said a painstaking investigation was immediately launched, leading to the arrest of four principal suspects.
Further investigation revealed that the deceased had allegedly been accused of ste@ling chickens and eggs from a poultry farm located in Mbak 4 Community, Uyo Local Government Area. The police imagemaker said that rather than handing him over to law enforcement authorities, the suspects allegedly subjected him to a mob attack on April 19, 2026, during which he was beaten with sticks and machetes until he d!ed.
The police stated that the suspects allegedly tied the victim’s hands and legs, dragged his body through the community to a junction, abandoned it there for about two days, and later transported the corpse on a wheelbarrow into a nearby forest, where it was buried in a shallow grave in an attempt to conceal the crime.
“During interrogation, the four suspects voluntarily confessed to their respective roles in the murder and subsequently led investigators to the burial site within the forest at Mbak 4 Community. The remains of the deceased were successfully exhumed and deposited at the morgue,” the statement said.
John said investigators also recovered key exhibits linked to the crime, including the Mitsubishi pick-up van allegedly used during the incident, the wheelbarrow used to transport the corpse and the weapons allegedly used in carrying out the attack.
