The Police Command of Cross River has reacted to the jungle justice given to a suspected phone thief in Calabar. 

The suspect who was identified as Eyo, aged 22, was set on fire by an angry mob on Sunday, April 9, 2023, in Esu Street, off Edim Otop Street, Atimbo, Calabar Municipality LGA of the state. 

According to an eyewitness, Eyo had allegedly stolen an android phone the previous evening and fled, only to return the next morning and meet his tragic fate.

The resident claimed Eyo, who stays around the Second transformer in Inyanghasang, had been involved in petty theft for a long time. 

Eyewitness word, "I have known Eyo since secondary school, he has always been stealing, there was a time he stole half of the class school fees. Even as we grew into our 20s, Eyo became audacious in stealing and more notorious, he was always caught stealing, this is not the first time a mob tried to mob him, it’s unfortunate that he got unlucky today,” 

"They started beating him with cutlasses and gave him deep cuts before setting him ablaze. Funny enough, it’s just for stealing an Android phone,” he added

SP Irene Ugbo, the spokesperson of the command, who confirmed the incident, stated that it is illegal for anyone to take laws into their hands.

Ugbo further stated that the right thing to do would have been to report the suspect to the nearest police station and hand him over, rather than killing him in such a gruesome manner. 

"The mob action against the suspect was illegal, barbaric and highly unacceptable, he should have been handed over to the police,” Ugbo words.

More Images