Tenants of Waddle Street in Calabar South, Cross River State, took drastic action against their landlord, Mr. Obong Ete, by flogging him with horse whips on Sunday. This incident occurred just before the tenants and their neighbors were set to leave for church.
Residents in the area have voiced concerns about the 30-year-old landlord, a bachelor, who they claim has been terrorizing them nearly every night.
A resident of the area, Mr. Daniel Akpan, claimed that the landlord, despite possessing his late parents’ inheritance, steals tenants’ valuables, including foodstuffs like yams and plantations.
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“Obong Ete has been doing this for a long time. It is good that he is again publicly disgraced. He doesn’t want to repent. Many times, youth leaders and vigilante groups have traced stolen items to his apartment and beaten him up. I am surprised that he has refused to change,” Akpan said.
The second tenant, Esther Eyo, said, “We learnt from his family that he once stole from a church, and worshippers laid curses on him. This might probably be why he can’t even control himself.”
Another tenant who resides in the area, Stanley Edem, alleged that the landlord had once burgled their houses and that curses were placed on him.
The landlord was subsequently handed over to the Mbukpa police station after receiving severe beatings. But in a swift reaction to the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Irene Ugbo, condemned the beatings, stressing that all the youths needed to have done was to arrest the accused and hand him over to the police for necessary action, as no one has the right to take the law into his hands.
