The yuletide season turned tragic for a 60-year-old Calabar based herbalist, Ani Ikoneto, as he died from injuries he sustained when his dog bit off and ate his private parts.

The herbalist who lived at Jebbs Street in Calabar South, according to neighbours, went on a drinking spree on Christmas Eve and returned home drunk.

The residence of Ani Ikoneto, the Calabar herbalist

“When he came back, we had gone to bed but some people were still outside. He went inside his room and slept off without shutting the door and because of too much drink, he excreted on himself.

“His dog that was outside smelt the poo and went inside to eat it; in the process, the dog ate his private parts thinking it was meat or part of the excreta,” Itoro, one of his neighbours told Vanguard.

According to him, the herbalist raised the alarm, prompting neighbours to rush into his apartment and discovered what had happened.

“When we heard him scream, we thought hoodlums had attacked him. But when we got there, we saw that his private part was gone and his dog had blood on its mouth,” the neighbour said.

Itoro said Ikoneto could not be rushed to the hospital because of the excreta that covered his body; so he had to be cleaned up first.

“By the time we finished cleaning him of the shit, he was bleeding so much and on the way to the hospital he died,” she added.

According to the report, Ikoneto was living alone as his daughters were married and lived away from him.

He was taken to his village on Boxing Day for burial.