BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
Emeka Nwali, an apprentice in his late 20s, has received 30 strokes of cane for stealing a motorcycle in Imeabali Village, Ezzama, Ezza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
Nwali, who was exposed by a mentally challenged man, was reportedly stripped naked, with his hands tied and kept under the sun at the village square for several hours in the presence of youth leaders, elders and some members of the village, after being beaten.
Also, a father of three, Elom Nnoke, who is in his mid-40s, was given 30 leashes at the village square for harvesting potatoes that belonged to others without their consent on November 7.
The deputy head of the village, Ikechukwu Omeri, explained that the suspected motorcycle thief, who came from a neighboring village, visited Nwuelem compound on November 1.
Omeri said that a mentally challenged man, who saw the suspect drag the motorbike out of the compound towards the toilet, exposed him.
On why the villagers decided to handle crime cases personally, the deputy village head said that the police oftentimes handle reported cases with levity.
According to Omeri, Nnoke was caught by Elizabeth Igwe, the owner of the farm, and her children while Nnoke was harvesting some potatoes in the farm.
He said that the owner of the farm, who was on her way from church on November 7, caught the thief who already harvested about two baskets of potatoes.
“We retrieved some of the stolen potatoes from the buyer and returned it to the owner. We flogged the thief instead of handing him over to the police because they (the police) would not do anything about it. Several times, we reported cases and handed over those who were caught committing crime to the police but nothing was done. The suspects, at times, get home before the delegates that we sent to the police station. Most of the crimes committed here are burglary, harvesting of people’s crops, and stealing of livestock.
“During investigation on the stolen motorcycle, we learn that when the owner raised the alarm, the mad man in Nwuelem compound helped. With that, we were able to recover the stolen motorcycle. As we converged to strategize, the mad man just came in casually and mentioned the culprit’s name repeatedly.
Initially, we didn’t take him serious but on the second thought, we decided to look for him.
By the time we caught him at Onueke, he had sold the bike for N30, 000 and collected the sum of N10, 000, hoping to collect N20, 000 balances the following week.
“He confessed that he stole the bike in revenge on the ground that the owner of the motorcycle failed to settle him as agreed for six months. Our verdict was that after the 30 strokes each of the cane, the suspects would engage in community service by sweeping the village square for three months beginning from 10th November.”
A youth leader in the village, Monday Nwachi, said, “The second thief had, sometimes, served a jail term for an earlier offence which he committed.
“Madam Elizabeth lodged a complaint to us that some unknown persons were tampering her crops. Recently, Elom ran out of luck. He went to the woman’s farm as usual when she and other neighbours had gone to church but didn’t leave there until she returned. He was caught red handed while harvesting some potatoes on the farm.
“We started to punish offenders starting from 2019 when it dawned on us that the police are not really behaving as our friends. And since then, crimes rate has reduced in the village. Earlier when we report cases to the police, the suspects would bribe their ways, so we were not getting justice. Now crime has reduced because we subject them to public shame.”
In a telephone interview, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ebonyi State Command, Loveth Odah, said that none of the mentioned cases were brought to her notice.
“Police remain your friends. We want members of the public to provide us with accurate information to serve them better. Our core mandate is to protect lives and properties of citizens, but without information, we are handicapped. I am not aware of such cases, but I think that the stakeholders in the village may have pleaded to be allowed to settle the problems at home,” Odah said.
