A man allegedly beheaded a three-year-old boy and sucked his blood in a church at Ugbenyim in Umuhuali community in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

Sources say that the accused person -one Christian Akam – and the mother of the slain boy, Mrs Ukwa, who are from the same village, Onunwankwo in Ishielu LGA, coincidentally met at a prayer ministry where the incident happened.

The head of vigilance group in the area, Jude Nwankpu, told our reporter at the weekend that the accused returned alongside his brother from Nnewi in Anambra State where they lived and went to see the woman in charge of the prayer ministry.

“When he got to the prayer ministry, he saw a young lady from his village identified as Mrs Ukwa with her three-year-old boy and they exchanged pleasantries.

“Both of them came to see the woman in charge of the ministry. But the woman travelled to Onitsha in Anambra State and they decided to wait for her.

“While they were still waiting, Ukwa decided to go and fetch water to bath her child having waited for a long time. It was in the process that she left her child with another small girl there to look after.

“But when Christian realized there was no elderly person watching him, he took a matchet, snatched the child from the girl and beheaded him.

“He even took the innocent boy and placed on a nearby bench and made sure his head was completely chopped off.

“It was a loud cry from the small girl looking after the boy that attracted the attention of people, who immediately rushed to rescue the boy but unfortunately, it was too late.

“What surprised us most was that Christian picked up the head of the innocent boy and began to suck his blood in the presence of people,” he narrated.

He said the accused was later overpowered through the combined efforts of the village vigilance group and other villagers.

However, a close family source, who didn’t want his name in print, said that the accused was developing signs of madness which caused his brother to bring him home from Nnewi to the church in search of a solution.

The suspect was later handed over to Ezilo Police Division. His parents were said to have also been arrested by the police in connection with the incident.

The Nation