An Abuja based building engineer, named Francis Atahh has recounted how he escaped being lynched after a mob descended on him over allegation of manhood disappearance by a man he had approached to direct him to where he could purchase some building items.
The 35 year old married man was said to be rescued from the jaws of death in Mararaba Loko, a Nasarawa State settlement which is a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Atahh almost experienced a jungle justice when one Mr Jerry Danladi, whom he had stopped in a vehicle to enquire of where he could buy some building tools in the area, raised alarmed that his manhood had disappeared after a brief conversation.
However, he cheated death as some good samaritans appealed to the irate mob to hold on for confirmation or otherwise of the alleged act by his accuser.
While restraining the crowd from embarking on the jungle justice, the chief of the area was immediately alerted and he immediately sent security guides to take both the accuser and the suspect to the palace for interrogation.
While being grilled at the palace, the accuser who had claimed his manhood was stolen, suddenly admitted that he raised false allegation.
Meanwhile, before this time, the alleged suspect had been beaten,peddled with stones of different sizes and hauled with all manner of harmful objects.
Narrating his ordeal to journalists Friday,the building engineer said he was still in the state of psychological trauma following the near-death situation he found himself over the false alarm.
He said, “On the fateful day of Wednesday,11 of October, in the morning around 8am, I was going to my construction site where I work, to see some of my workers at the site who needed some tools from me. On my way,I saw one key fabrication shop and I parked by the side and there was a young man there. I asked him if he had the range I was looking for and he told me he didn’t have it. But he pointed at a distant place where I could get it. I thanked him and was about driving away to where he directed me to only for him to start raising alarm that his manhood had disappeared.
“For a moment, I didn’t even know I was the one he was referring to. I was just looking from my vehicle to see what was happening, not knowing he was pointing at me, saying,”see him inside motor, he taken my penis”.
“I only realized I was the one he was referring to when people started hitting my vehicle, shouting “wait,wait, don’t go anywhere, don’t go anywhere.
“When I alighted from the vehicle, people started coming to the scene and began to mob me. Confused on what was happening,I started pleading with them, begging and trying to show them my identity card and where I work and that I’m innocent of the allegation but all to no avail as the crowd of people that gathered continued to hit me from different directions.
“As the beating continued, God just used some persons that later joined the mob to appeal to them to hold on first. In my very eyes, I saw people who started picking stones and picking whatever they could lay their hands on to lynch me. But some people pleaded that they should hold on so they could get confirmation of the allegation from my accuser.
“In the process,the guy that raised the allegation that I stole his manhood started saying his manhood had been restored. That was how the whole thing happened.”
Mr Atahh said, ”When the message got to the chief, whose palace is not far from the scene of the incident, he sent his security men who came and saved me from the situation and took us both to the palace.
“When we got to the palace, we were playing everything as it happened to the chief, who was represented by his son, a prince as he was said to be out of the palace when we got there. There at the palace, both of us were asked to narrate what happened. When the prince asked the man to state his side of what happened, he said his penis which he thought had disappeared following his verbal conversation with me, had been restored. They asked him if he had evidence that it had disappeared and he said no. They asked whether he took picture of it or showed anybody what he claimed happened to him and he said ‘no.’
“At this point,the prince himself got angry with him. That was when he started begging for peace, saying we should resolve it amicably. He said he thanked God that I was not killed by the mob.
“On knowing that people who followed us to the palace were angry that he lied against me, he started toying the path of peace.
“There was a surging crowd at the palace and the whole village gathered. I told him to address the crowd, to tell them the truth because already, people were taking pictures and recording videos and I don’t know the extent to which it could go.
“After begging for some time, the prince came out to address the waiting crowd, appealing to them that the man has confessed that it was a fake alert and his manhood was intact. After this, some of the people that came to lynch me left but some were still around.
“The prince said we should end everything peacefully but I wasn’t satisfied with that because I didn’t know the extent to which the issue might have gone. I told the prince that before I leave everything as he said, I would love to have a recorded evidence of the whole thing and he said they have no letter headed paper in the palace. Following this, I headed to the police to lodge a formal complaint about the issue. The man has since been arrested and the case being handled by the Karshi Division of the Nigeria Police. This is the stage we are now.
“When we got to the police, they they asked the guy if there was any body contact between both of us, he said no, they asked if I came out from my car, he said no and they asked if he touched my car and he also said no.
“The police is to charge the case to court, that is what we are waiting for now.”
Contacted,the Nasarawa State Police Command admitted knowing about the case but said it was still under investigation.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Ramhan Nansel, said cases of manhood disappearance had become so rampant in the state, saying over 50 cases had been reported to it this year alone even as he said all the cases have been proven to be fake.
“These cases of disappearance of genitals are so rampant now. This year alone,we have received over 50 cases. But do you know that out of all these cases,no one that has been proven to be true. All are lies.
“People will just raise false alarm, attract people and the alleged suspect will be attacked. When the person is rescued and both parties taken to police station,the person that raised alarm will say he’s okay now.
“It was when we started charging them to court and the court started reminding them that the matter started dying down. It died down by August ending and by late September and October,this month,it sprang up again.
“We are aware of this particular case and we are still investigating it,”he said
