In Awada, Anambra State, an angry mob is said to have lynched a kidnapping suspect and burned his body.
The incident was confirmed by the state police command on Friday.
The deceased, who was a member of a seven-man kidnapping gang, was reportedly left behind by his associates after security personnel stopped the vehicle in which they were transporting two abducted victims, making it impossible for him to escape.
They were accosted by the security personnel while they were carrying their victim along Obosi Road in Awada, close to Onitsha.
He allegedly tried to flee, but locals pursued him, seized him, and lynched him before setting him on fire.
The source claimed that their victims had also been saved unharmed.
The state police public relations officer, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, confirmed the incident and stated that it took place in Awada.
A Toyota Highlander jeep with registration number NSH 398 HA and a Toyota Camry with registration number BRS 941 AA were recovered by operations working with security operatives at around 9 p.m. on June 23, 2022, he said.
Security personnel “intercepted a seven-man kidnapping gang along Awada,” DSP Ikenga continued. Six of the seven gang members fled as police tried to apprehend them, abandoning both the victim’s car and their own working vehicle. Before police officers could arrive on the scene, the seventh person who had been arrested had been lynched and set on fire. As a result, the police commissioner, CP Echeng, criticized the actions of some members of the public who use “jungle justice” to hold criminal suspects without first going to the police for a full investigation.
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“Echeng also told them to never use the force of the law and to always be calm. When they catch them, they should try to get them to the nearest police station as soon as possible. This would give the police a chance to look into the suspects’ bad behavior and bring them to justice according to the law. Police have started an operation to catch the gang members and suspects who are running away after setting the arrested suspect on fire.
