Some unidentified thieves who attempted to break into an apartment in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, did something quite odd – they defecated into a bathtub, before leaving the apartment.

The apartment owner, who identified himself as Nkereuwem, a local trader, lives with his wife and children in a one-bedroom flat downstairs in a storey building at Obio Imo Street, Uyo.

He told PREMIUM TIMES, on Thursday, that the thieves may have deliberately done that to “punish him” because they could not have access into his bedroom.

The incident happened two weeks ago, around 10 a.m. when people had gone out for work and the area was quiet, he said.

“Although the bathroom and the bedroom are attached to each other, there’s no door linking the two. The bathroom was loosely locked, so it was easy for them to get in there. But I think they became frustrated and angry that they couldn’t have access to my bedroom and other areas in the apartment. So, they had to mess up the place,” Mr Nkereuwem said.

The entrance door to the apartment must have been too strong for the thieves to break, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

“There’s a toilet in there, they should have used it if their intention wasn’t really to punish anybody.

“They also threw sand into the bathtub. My wife had to clean up the mess when we came back home in the afternoon,” he said.

Mr Nkereuwem said his car stereo and battery were stolen by unknown persons who sneaked into the compound some weeks ago.

While Mr Nkereuwem was lucky this time around, his landlord, UbongAbasi Okon, was not that lucky; three laptops, two wrist watches, including his wife’s wigs and perfumes and sundry items, were taken away.

“They had access through the backdoor, the rooms were not locked,” Mr Okon said. “I believe whoever did this knew (that) people were not around at home.”

Mr Okon, a website designer, said his elderly mother was the only person at home but that she was not strong enough to watch over the whole place.

“We have a dog here, but my mum said the dog didn’t bark at all,” he said.

A report has been lodged at a police station in Uyo.

“I am shocked, I feel unsafe because incidentally in the last three months there have been spates of robberies in the neighbourhood, a neigbour’s car was stolen. Earlier in October, a group of boys paraded the street, and were robbing homes and shops,” Mr Okon said, appealing to the police to step up security in Obio Imo and the adjoining streets.

There have been reports lately of armed gangs moving from street to street in some areas of Uyo, assaulting and robbing residents, sometimes in daylight.

The police, in a recent press statement, said they have received reports of such incidents in the city.

The statement issued by the police spokesperson in the state, Odiko MacDon, however, said, “More worrisome is the fact that no one called to inform the Police (about those incidents), thereby allowing the hoodlums to have a field day.”

Mr MacDon, a superintendent of police, listed some hotlines and urged the residents to be vigilant and quick in reporting crimes to the police.

He said the hotlines would be open 24 hours of every day, but that “the police cannot be everywhere at every time.”