"We first saw the old man roaming the streets like a mentally unstable man, holding a small bag and we thought he was begging for food or money. Later, we noticed some commercial motorcyclists shouting 'Thief! Thief!' from afar. They dragged the bag from him, and it was discovered that he had items such as bra, panties, clothes and soaked sanitary pads in his possession," an eyewitness told SaharaReporters.
A 60-year-old suspected ritualist was caught in Akure, the Ondo State capital on Wednesday evening with dozens of female underwear.
The suspects, whose real name was not disclosed at the time of this report, was caught at Danjuma area, along Isikan road in Akure.
Several eyewitnesses told SaharaReporters that the man was caught by commercial motorcylists while picking female undergarments. He was beaten to a pulp and stripped.
One of the witnesses, Miss Adeola Oluwasegun, said the suspect was first mistaken for a mentally unstable person by the residents until he was exposed.
"We first saw the old man roaming the streets like a mentally unstable man, holding a small bag, and we thought he was begging for food or money. Later, we noticed some commercial motorcyclists shouting 'Thief! Thief!!' from afar. They dragged the bag from him, and it was discovered that he had items such as bra, panties, clothes and soaked sanitary pads in his possession.
"Many residents were angry and they gave him the serious beating of his life. In fact, they nearly lynched him before he was whisked away by some elderly people."
At least 12 soaked sanitary pads and underwears were found in possession of the suspect. It was learnt that the suspect was later handed over to officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Oladipo Samuel, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the NSCDC in Ondo State, confirmed the incident when contacted by SaharaReporters.
Samuel added that the suspect was in custody and helping with investigation and would be handed over to the Police soon.
"Truly, he was handed over to our men yesterday and he is helping our team of investigators in the office with very useful information. We would get back to you after our investigation and probably before we hand him over to the Police for proper prosecution over the case," he said.