An irate mob in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, on Monday, lynched one Babatunde Ajonileju, whom they accused of harvesting human faeces for sinister motives.

An eyewitness, who preferred anonymity, said at the Igirigiri area of the state capital, where the man was lynched, that the mob had captured him in the Matthew area of the town and taken him to some parts of the town before they eventually brought him there.

Other eyewitnesses claimed that the man, who was suspected to be a ritualist, was apprehended and subsequently killed for allegedly consuming the faeces.

They claimed that the man was sighted by an unidentified elderly woman, who raised the alarm that prompted youths in the area to apprehend him.

According to the eywitnesses, when the man was caught, he claimed that he was harvesting the faeces for some church leaders.

“That was why they took him to Okeyinmi, Matthew Street, Ijigbo and other areas of the town for confirmation before taking him to Odo Ado, where he was lynched. Nothing could be confirmed. The leader of the white garment church in Odo Ado is not in town. The man attempted to escape, but the pursuing mob caught up with him at the Red Roof junction,” an eyewitness explained.

The Police Public Relations Officer for the Ekiti State Command, Mr Caleb Ikechukwu, said, “From our investigation, the person’s name is Babatunde Ajoniloju. He was 29 years old. He was actually lynched to death by unknown mob at the Odua Odun area of Ado Ekiti.

“It was alleged that he gathered human faeces for ritual purposes. What the people did was to lynch him to death.

“That was jungle justice. It is not acceptable anywhere. What the people were supposed to do was to hand him over to the police for proper investigation. It is only then we would be able to establish if what they said he did was actually true. We have yet to make any arrest.”