A Cameroonian diplomat, his driver and a Nigerian recently suffered horrible deaths in the hands of youths in Taraba State who accused them of genital theft through fetish means
By Ben Adaji/Jalingo
Having lived in Nigeria for over two years, Thomas Achotu, a Cameroonian working with his country’s Embassy in Abuja, must have felt safe in his belief that he knew so much about his hosts in the course of carrying out his diplomatic duties. And, on 25 June, when he set out for the Republic of Cameroon, what was uppermost on his mind was the shortest land route home. He settled for the trip to Mbamenda, a Cameroonian town bordering Nigeria, via Abong in Kurmi Local Government, Taraba State. It turned out to be the costliest mistake of his life. Before the day was over, Achotu, his driver named Fosting Joseph, and a Nigerian whose name was given as Tahimbu Avua, had been killed in cold blood and their bodies set ablaze.
Achotu, his driver, Fosting Joseph and a Nigerian whose name was given as Tahimbu Avua were killed in cold blood and half of their bodies set ablaze while Achotu’s Prado Jeep was burnt down by angry youths of Mararraba Baissa and in collaboration with the youths of Baissa, Kurmi Local Government of Taraba State.
Sources revealed that Achotu departed Abuja in company of his Cameroonian driver in a Mitsubishi Prado Jeep. On getting to Katsina-Ala, Benue State, the duo met a soldier and inquired if they could get somebody that could lead them to Abong, the border between Nigeria and Cameroon. The soldier was said to have advised Achotu to contact officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, in Katsina-Ala, who would give him someone to show him the way.
TheNEWS gathered that after a robust negotiation, the NURTW detailed Tahimbu Avua, who was familiar with the route, to accompany the duo to Abong, a border village between Nigeria and Cameroon.
The trio drove on till they got to Mararraba, in Donga Local Government, a junction leading to Baissa, Takum and Bali in Taraba State. Because construction of new roads was going on in the area, Avua became confused and asked the driver to stop so that he could ask the locals for directions.
At Mararraba, Avua was said to have alighted from the vehicle and approached an unidentified young man to direct him to Baissa. Unknown to Avua, however, Taraba State had been tense in recent times as a result of widespread rumours of disappearance of the genitals after a handshake with strangers. After the young man had shown him the way to Baissa, Avua shook hands with him, boarded the Jeep and they continued their journey. They did not know that big trouble awaited them at Baissa.
The man Avua shook hands with at Mararraba, afraid that his genitals had been stolen via the handshake, raised an alarm and rushed to the police in Mararraba.
Sources said that when tension ran high at Mararraba, with youths of the town threatening to chase the visitors to Baissa, the police at Mararraba phoned their colleagues in Baissa, directing them to apprehend three people heading for Baissa in a Prado Jeep. The police in Baissa promptly mounted a road block and stopped the Jeep. Confident that they had not committed any criminal act, the visitors accompanied the policemen to the station. A confused Achotu was still asking the police what the matter was, when youths from Mararraba, loaded in about 10 pick-up vans, with some on motocycles, arrived Baissa with dangerous weapons, chanting war songs.
Accusing the trio of being responsible for the disappearance of a young man’s penis at Mararraba, they promptly overpowered the police and took them to a nearby street. As the commotion was going on, youths of Baissa in their thousands joined their counterparts from Mararraba, threatening Achotu and his men to restore the man’s genitals or be killed.
All pleas by the visitors claiming ignorance of the alleged offence fell on deaf ears, not even Avua’s that he was from Benue and was only leading the people to Abong. The youths butchered their victims using cutlasses, bow and arrows as well as iron rods. After killing them, their genitals were cut off, placed on three different stakes and the youths danced with them round Baissa. The youths later poured petrol on their bodies from their stomachs to their legs and set them ablaze. The Jeep was also burnt.
After the youth’s frenzy had subsided, the state Police Commissioner, Mr. Aliyu Musa ordered the Divisional Police Officer to convey the bodies of the victims to the mortuary of the Jalingo Specialist Hospital.
The commissioner confirmed that preliminary investigation revealed that two of the victims were Cameroonians while the other person was from Katsina-Ala. Describing the incident as unfortunate, he said the police would do everything possible to bring those responsible for the killing of the three persons to book.
In the last two months, more than five other persons have lost their lives in Taraba State following false rumours of genital disappearance. It is instructive to note that none of the reported cases has been proven to be true.
Did you Enjoy this story? you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Random Post
- April 15, 2008 -- Blockbuster Pairings (0)
- January 26, 2009 -- KADUNA /End Of The Road For Ruthless Gang (0)
- September 29, 2008 -- Bittersweet Affair (1)
- May 11, 2008 -- Tackling The Water Nightmare (0)
- May 26, 2008 -- A Slow Government (0)
- June 9, 2008 -- It’s My Idea (3)
- February 16, 2009 -- ILE IFE /Honour Well Deserved (0)
- December 1, 2008 -- The Significance Of Obama’s Election To Nigeria And Its Diaspora—Bolaji Aluko (0)
- January 26, 2009 -- Celebrating A Milestone (0)
- December 1, 2008 -- Forced Recess (2)
No tags for this post.
Related posts
Comment