By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

A mentally ill man was on Sunday butchered with his body dismembered by suspected cultists in Awka, the Anambra State capital.

According to a source, the deceased who is very well known in Zik Avenue area of Awka was in his regular post at Dike Park, when the men suspected to be cultists came for him.

He said: “They started by stabbing him, but it all came to nothing before they resorted to using cutlasses on him, and even stoning him, until he gave up, and the men left immediately.

“Some people suspect that the man was not mad, but was just pretending, but it is obvious that he was mad because he even eats his own excreta.

“They say he used to be a cultist before he went mad. No one knows why he went mad, but you know these cultists, once you are committed, you are committed, and they must come for you.”

It was however learnt that the cultists went after him because of his involvement in cultism before his mental retardation.

Confirming the incident, the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the DPO of Central Police Station in Awka deployed men promptly to the scene.

He added: “The DPO immediately swung into action, retrieved the corpse, and deposited it in a morgue.

“I cannot confirm that the man was mad, but when the family comes for the corpse, we will be able to ascertain the mental health of the deceased man.

“For now, police is liaising with eyewitnesses to ensure that the perpetrators are tracked and arrested.”

Sources revealed that the deceased is a native of Enugu State resident in Awka, and was known to have association with a certain cult group.

According to one source, “He was a bad guy, and he did many charms to protect himself. It is obvious that the charms he did when he was sane, was what was protecting him during the period of his insanity. That was why bullets and stabbing could not penetrate him.

“He did those things while he was sane, and since he went mad, the charms were still working.

“You know that most of these charms mostly abhor sex and because he is mad and have not been meeting women, despite being mentally deranged, the charms remained potent.”

Cult-related killings have been rife in Awka for over three years and power tussle among rival groups within the state has been fingered as the major cause.

While a revenue agent was shot dead at the popular Eke Awka market in July, and his head severed from his body, a musician was last week shot dead at the gate of his house in Awka.

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