Aduragbemi Omiyale
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A group based in the United States known as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has asked the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Kayode Egbetokun, to immediately arrest an Enugu chief from Ohagu-Ovoko for allegedly torturing an animal.
A graphic video on Facebook showed a man who described himself as Enenie Nwa Ite and his cohorts beating and starving animals. The visual also showed them slowly roasting live animals over open fires, cutting open pregnant animals and torturing and killing their foetuses.
The video, which has gone viral and generated reactions, showed how they slowly split and tortured puppies to death while screaming in agony.
In a statement made available to Business Post on Friday, PETA appealed to the Nigerian authorities to immediately investigate the matter and prosecute the culprit.
They specifically asked the Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Mr Kanayo Uzuegbu, to ensure the brutalised animals get justice, while others still in their possession are rescued.
The group noted that the conduct in the videos appears to explicitly violate section 495 of Nigeria’s Criminal Code Act, which prohibits torturing animals and causing them unnecessary suffering, and section 450, which prohibits the unlawful wounding and killing of animals.
It noted that according to leading mental health professionals and law enforcement agencies, perpetrators of violent acts against animals are often repeat offenders who pose a serious threat to the community at large.
“These gruesome videos depict extraordinary cruelty by someone who appears to be mentally unbalanced and sadistic and who needs to be stopped,” the Senior Vice President of PETA, Mr Jason Baker, said in the statement.
“PETA is calling on authorities to intervene to lock up this violent abuser for the sake of vulnerable animals and because studies show that such wantonly cruel people pose a danger to the entire community,” he added.
