Vigilante Kills Man Over Missing Phone Later Found with Owner’s Child

On Father’s Day, Sunday, June 16, 2024, a 29-year-old man named Joe Philip, also known as Aboy, was beaten to death by members of the Anioma Security Watch Network in Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State. The incident was sparked by the disappearance of a Nokia touch light phone.

According to an eyewitness account, the tragedy began when Joe Philip returned from church and turned on his generator to relax. An elderly woman in the same compound asked to charge her phone in his room. While Philip napped, the woman’s son retrieved the phone without informing him. When the woman later came to collect her phone and couldn’t find it, Philip offered to replace it, but she refused and threatened to teach him a lesson if her exact phone was not returned.

Ignoring Philip’s offer to provide a similar phone, the woman called members of the local security outfit, Anioma Security Watch Network, who arrived and began to assault him, demanding the return of the missing phone. Despite pleas from witnesses, the vigilantes persisted, beating Philip until he lost consciousness.

Realizing the severity of the situation, the vigilantes took Philip’s unresponsive body to their office at 17 Gbenoba Street, Agbor, where an agitated mob damaged their patrol vehicle. The intervention of the Nigerian Police Force and the military restored order. The police then transported Philip’s body to the mortuary at Agbor Central Hospital, accompanied by his relatives and friends.

In a tragic twist, a few hours later, the Nokia torchlight phone was found with the woman’s son, who admitted to taking it to avoid disturbing Philip’s nap. The grieving father of the deceased expressed his sorrow and frustration, stating that he had pleaded with the woman to accept a replacement phone, but she insisted on having her exact phone back.

“I pleaded with the woman to allow us to replace her phone, but she insisted it must be her particular one or she’ll make that call,” the father said.