Thief forced to eat raw yam in Enugu, dies

A young man, who was allegedly caught stealing tubers of yam at Afor Awkunanaw, popularly called Gariki Market, Enugu, and was forced to eat the yam, has died.

It was gathered that the young man, whose name could not be ascertained, was caught by the security men guarding the market penultimate Thursday and was forced to eat the yams raw.
He was said to have died on the spot before he could finish a tuber of yam from the ones he was caught with.
A source, who would not want her name in print, said forcing yam thieves to eat them raw has been a tradition in the market. She added that another thief, who stole yams in the same market, had suffered the same fate in the past. 
Her words: “That is what they do in the market. The other time a man was caught, they did the same thing to him,” explaining that they do not report such culprits to police and that police do not come to the market to arrest people.