Police have arrested four suspects linked to the brutal murder of a 21-year-old man, Emmanuel Effiong, whose body was secretly buried in a shallow grave after a mob in Akwa Ibom State allegedly lynched him.
DSP Timfon John, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), who announced this in a press release on Friday, July 17, 2023, said the arrest followed a breakthrough in an investigation of a gruesome case of conspiracy and murder.
According to DSP John, the investigation was initiated following credible information received on June 17, 2026, accompanied by a viral video clip showing the deceased being brutally assaulted by a group of individuals.
“In the disturbing footage, the victim was seen lying helpless in a pool of blood with his hands and legs tied before being dragged on the ground beside a white Mitsubishi pickup van,” she added.
She stated that the operatives of the command, acting swiftly on the intelligence, commenced a painstaking investigation that led to the arrest of four principal suspects.
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They are David Okon, alias Ita, 45 yrs; Joseph Gibson, 39 yrs; Essien Solomon, 23 yrs; and Imoh Asuquo, 28 yrs.
The PPRO said further investigation revealed that the deceased was allegedly accused of stealing chickens and eggs from a poultry farm located along Mbak 4 Community in Uyo Local Government Area.
“Rather than being handed over to law enforcement authorities, he was subjected to a barbaric mob attack on April 19, 2026, during which he was beaten with sticks and machetes until he died.
“The suspects allegedly tied the victim’s hands and legs; dragged his lifeless body through the community to a certain 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 a deliberate attempt to conceal the crime,” she added.
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 mortuary.
Police also recovered critical exhibits connected with the crime, including the Mitsubishi pickup van allegedly used during the commission of the offence, the wheelbarrow used in transporting the corpse, and the weapons allegedly used in perpetrating the attack.
In his reaction, the Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Mohammed Azare, fsi, has condemned the heinous act in the strongest possible terms, describing jungle justice as a grave criminal offence that has no place in a civilised society.
He reiterated that no individual or group has the legal authority to assault, torture or take the life of any person under any guise or suspicion, stating that “Every suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction, and anyone apprehended for any alleged offence must be handed over to the Police or other lawful authorities for due process.”
The Commissioner further warned that the Command will pursue relentlessly and bring to justice every individual connected with acts of mob violence, extrajudicial killings and other forms of criminality, irrespective of their status or influence.
