The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has scored a major breakthrough in the investigation into the killing of a 21-year-old Emmanuel Effiong with the arrest of four suspects who were reportedly engaged in the mob killing and secret burial of the victim.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, made this known in a statement yesterday.
The statement said the inquiry was initiated after the police received credible information on June 17, 2026, coupled with a viral video of the deceased being severely abused by a group of people.
The footage showed the victim tied up with his wrists and legs in a pool of blood being dragged on the ground next to a white Mitsubishi pick-up vehicle helpless.
The police added that an intensive investigation was immediately begun, which led to the arrest of four main suspects.
“Investigation further revealed that the deceased was alleged to have stolen chickens and eggs from a poultry farm in Mbak 4 Community, Uyo Local Government Area.
Rather than giving him up to law enforcement officials, the suspects reportedly turned him over to a mob on April 19, 2026, when he was beaten to death with sticks and machetes.
The suspects allegedly tied the victim’s hands and legs and dragged his body through the community to a junction, where they abandoned the body for about two days and later conveyed the corpse on a wheelbarrow into a nearby forest where it was buried in a shallow grave in an attempt to conceal the crime, Police said.
The four suspects confessed to their separate involvement in the murder during interrogation and then led investigators to the burial place inside the forest at Mbak 4 Community. The deceased was exhumed successfully and deposited to the mortuary’, the statement stated.
The investigators also collected important exhibits linking them to the crime including the Mitsubishi pick-up van reportedly used during the event, the wheelbarrow used in transporting the corpse and the weapons allegedly used in carrying out the attack.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Mohammed Azare, reacting to the news condemned the death and called jungle justice as a serious criminal offence that has no place in the civilised community.
He highlighted that no individual, organization or authority has the legal right to attack, torture or kill anyone under any circumstances or suspect.
The commissioner said that all suspects are innocent unless proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction and that any person arrested for an alleged offence must be handed over to the police or other legitimate authorities for due process.
Azare cautioned that the command will not relent on its efforts to track down and prosecute any persons involved in mob violence, extrajudicial murders and other criminal crimes, regardless of their standing or influence.
He reiterated the command’s resolve to safeguard the sanctity of human life, the rule of law and ensuring that all people deemed accountable are brought to justice.
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