A middle-aged woman ‘gospel preacher’ yesterday threw residents of Yenagoa into uproar as she suddenly went berserk and stabbed to death a 14-year-old boy, Joseph Thomas, after inflicting knife cuts on another.
The incident, which happened along popular Genesis Street in Okaka road, occurred around 7.30am yesterday. The incident threw the neighbours on the street into shock, which later degenerated into anger as a mob descended on the woman and nearly beat her to death but for the quick intervention of the police.
Eyewitnesses told The Guardian that the accused woman had attempted to stab another boy few meters away before she killed the 14-year-old boy.
She was said to have stabbed the other boy in the arm along Mountain of Fire road, Okaka before proceeding to kill her victim.
One of the residents of Genesis Street identified simply as Panebi told The Guardian that the woman identified as an indigene of Enugu State, is known to preach the gospel every morning along Okaka road.
“But on this particular day, she was usually carrying a bible and started displaying strange behaviours by displaying a dagger. She chased everyone that came close to her away. She got to the victim’s house and broke the door.
“She dragged the boy to the middle of the road and stabbed him three times. Angry youths on the street started retaliating by attacking her with stones and planks until she fell down. Police came to her rescue”, the eyewitness said.
Spokesman of the Bayelsa State Police Command, Asinim Butswat, who confirmed the incident, said police has the woman in custody and has arranged extra security for her at the hospital to forestall the plot to kill her on the hospital bed in retaliation for killing the boy.”
