The Nation Newspaper

Tag: lynched

  • Four ‘kidnappers’ lynched in Taraba

    Four men have been lynched by youths at Tella in Gassol Local Government of Taraba State.

    Eyewitnesses said the deceased were suspected kidnappers.

    “Before the police arrived, they were beaten to death and set ablaze,” sources said.

    Police spokesman David Misal confirmed the incident.

    He said investigation was on to ascertain identities of the victims and arrest those behind the barbaric act.

    “It is criminal for people to take the law into their hands and kill others because they are suspected to have committed or planned a crime.

    “The best thing was to hand them over to the police,” Misal said.

    He added that one person was arrested.

  • Man relives how his wife was lynched in Kano

    Man relives how his wife was lynched in Kano

    •‘She was not beheaded’
    •Okorocha hails her as a martyr

    The husband to the late Bridget Agbahiwe, who was killed in Kano by suspected Musloim fanatics for alleged blasphemy, Pastor Mike Agbahiwe, yesterday relived how his wife was beaten to death in his presence.

    Agbahiwe, an indigene of Orodo in Mbaitoli Local Government of Imo State, visited Governor Rochas Okorocha at the Government House in Owerri, the state capital, in company of his relatives.

    The distraught husband said his wife was not beheaded, as widely reported in the media.

    He said the late Bridget was killed in his presence, while he escaped death by the whiskers.

    Agbahiwe said the attackers were out to kill him and his wife.

    He said: “One Muslim, identified simply as Dauda, came to my wife’s shop and was washing his leg in front of the shop. My wife told the man to move up a little so that she could arrange her goods, but the man refused. Instead, the man started to molest her. He gripped her in the neck. As she tried to free herself from the grip, Dauda started shouting Allahu Akba! A mob quickly gathered.

    “When we saw that danger was about to occur, we ran and took refuge in the home of a prominent Alhaji, who is a leader in the area. The Alhaji did all he could to calm the mob down. They refused and called him an infidel. The mob broke into his house and killed my wife in front of me. If not for the quick intervention of the police, who immediately used teargas to disperse them, they would have also killed me. But they destroyed everything I had: the shop, the car and so on.

    “My wife was never beheaded. But the hitting was on her head and it was with hard objects. The body of my wife is in the mortuary with the head. She was not beheaded as it was widely reported.”

    Okorocha described Bridget’s killing as “highly provocative, barbaric and the highest wickedness of mankind”.

    The governor said the state government shared with the Agbahiwe family its moment of grief.

    He said: “The problem is not the death of Mrs. Agbahiwe but the manner in which she was killed. In this country, we must learn to live peacefully. No religion supports killing. Anyone who kills in the name of a religion is an evil worshipper and should never mention the name of God. The cold-blooded killing of Mrs. Agbahiwe should be seen as a sacrifice for the unity of the country. She died as a martyr.

    “The Imo State Government will be with the family in this period of grief. We shall set up a committee to assist in making sure that she is given a befitting burial. She died a heroine as far as we are concerned, as it took more than 100 attackers to kill her. Those who killed the woman are cowards.

    “The chairman of the Traditional Rulers’ Council in the state will lead a delegation to the Emir of Kano to make sure that such ugly incident never reoccurs anywhere in the country.”

    He added: “We are monitoring the situation. The report reaching me is that five people have been arrested and charged to court. They have reportedly been remanded in custody in connection with the killing of Mrs. Agbahiwe. This is good enough. It means the Kano State Government and the police command in Kano are working to live up to their assurances to me that they would fish out the killers and make them face the full wrath of the law.”

  • Suspected armed robber lynched

    A mob yesterday lynched a suspected armed robber whose gang injured three persons while trying to rob a man of N330,000.

    The incident occurred around 10am on 2, Olaleye New Site, Iponri, Surulere, Lagos after the robbers trailed a man from Zenith Bank on Apapa Road, Ebute-Metta, to dispossess him of the cash.

    It was gathered that the victim, Adewale Adeyemi was accosted by the criminals who rode a motorcycle in front of his office and asked to handover the cash.

    It was learnt that the victim resisted his attackers and in the process, he was shot on his right leg.

    The gunshot was said to have attracted passersby to the scene, who pounced on one of the robbers and his accomplice escaped.

    While trying to free himself from the mob, the suspect was said to have shot two other people identified as Olatunji Ogundele and Sanjo Akintoye.

    Angered by his actions, the mob overpowered and beat him to death before policemen could get to the scene.

    Police spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP) said one Para English pistol marked 53101007 with 10 unexpended and nine expended .9mm ammunitions, as well as empty shells were recovered from the scene.

    “Victims were rushed to Smith Hospital for treatment while the corpse of the suspected armed robber was evacuated to Yaba General Hospital mortuary. The case is under investigation,” she said.

  • Kidnap suspect lynched in Ikere-Ekiti

    Kidnap suspect lynched in Ikere-Ekiti

    I rate youths set ablaze yesterday a suspected kidnapper at Odo Oja in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

    The suspect, a man in his late forties, was allegedly found in possession of a child’s body about 7:40am at Mashood on Mofere Street at Eyitayo Estate.

    It was learnt that about 50 youths stripped the man naked and beat him into a coma. They put about to used tyres on him, doused him in petrol and set him ablaze.

    An eyewitness said: “The man was initially handed over to the Oodua local vigilance group. We expected them to torture him but they (the vigilance group members) did no such thing. They kept him there and wasted our time. At a point we got angry and took him to the main road and burnt him.”

    The police warned residents against taking the law into their hands, adding that “the command will deal with whoever is found engaging in such”.

    Police spokesman Victor Babayemi told reporters in Ado-Ekiti that the incident was “regrettable and inhuman”.

    Babayemi said: “The action of Ikere youths is condemnable and regrettable. There is no jungle justice in Nigeria’s Laws. It is barbaric for people to kill and set ablaze a suspect without resorting to security agencies. This will not be tolerated.”

    He said the command was investigating the matter to expose the identities of the masterminds of the killing.

    Babayemi said a middle-aged woman, Mrs. Lola Adebayo, was arrested for allegedly assaulting her nine-year-old maid, Blessing Akinyemi.

  • Mobile policeman lynched in Delta

    A mobile policeman has been lynched to death by a mob in Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha Local Government Area of Delta State.

    He was accused of killing a private security officer after a scuffle in the State Polytechnic.

    The security staff was attached to the office of the rector.

    An eye witness said that the armed mobile police officer drove into the school in company of a female student and a young man who was not a student.

    The policeman and his companions drove to the administrative block and parked their vehicle at the exit point used by the rector.

    He said: “The security officer challenged the man who drove the vehicle ordering him to park the vehicle elsewhere. The policeman and his companions snubbed the security man and walked into the bursar’s office, demanding to see the bursar who was at a management meeting.

    “The bursar came out from the meeting and was confronted with a gun by the policeman and his companion.

    “The bursar reportedly pushed the gun away; the security officer came in at this time and a scuffle ensued during which the gun went off.”

    The policeman’s mission on campus could not be confirmed. But sources said he may have been invited to the school by the student to help compel the bursar to issue her a receipt.

    The policeman was beaten by a mob; he died on the way to the hospital.

    The rector, Dr Edna Mogekwu, said the police were investigating the matter.

  • Three suspects lynched in Calabar

    Three robbery suspects escaped death in Calabar, Cross River State, after they were attacked by a mob.

    They were accused of allegedly snatching a bag from a woman, who just withdrew money from a bank.

    The suspects were dealt several machete cuts and their vehicle burnt. They would have been set ablaze but for the police, who arrived in time, it was learnt yesterday.

    An eye witness said the incident happened around Goldie by Atu Junction. He said the suspects snatched a bag containing money from a woman, who just stepped out of a bank and sped off.

    It was gathered that another lady, who saw them, drove behind them and alerted some people.

    The eye witness said: “Two other people with cars joined her and they trailed the thieves and when they got to Goldie by Atu roundabout, they attempted to make a turn but the lady and the two other drivers blocked them.

    “When the thieves saw that they had been trapped, they rolled up their windshield and remained inside.

    “The lady came out of her car and raised the alarm, which attracted a mob and the thieves were brought out. I broke the windows and brought out the boys and some people came with machetes.

    “We dealt with them severely before the arrival of a team of policemen from the Atakpa Police Division.”

    Police spokesman Hogan Bassey said: “The boys are with us and are being given medical attention and would soon appear in court after investigations are completed.”

  • My agony, by mum of lynched student

    To waylay them and beat them with planks until they died like chicken is the most savage thing one can witness in Nigeria of 2012” the aggrieved mother of one of the four University of Port Harcourt students killed in Aluu Community, last Friday laments in a petition to the Senate.

    Mrs. Chinwe Biringa, mother of Chiadika Biringa. He ordered in the petition dated October 9, 2012, prayed the Senate to ensure that those who killed her son did not escape the law.

    The petition, addressed to Senate President, David Mark, is entitled, “Gruesome murder of my son at Aluu, University of Port Harcourt host community.”

    She said her family wanted only two things namely: To clear the name of Chiadika (of stealing); and justice (for his murder)

    The petition read: “My name is Mrs. Chinwe BIRINGA. I am the mother of Mr. Chiadika BIRINGA, a second year student of Theatre Arts at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT).

    “My husband is a senior officer at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

    “My son turned 20 years this week and we gave him pocket money to celebrate it with his friends.

    “On Friday morning, we were called by my second son, also a UNIPORT student that all was not well and he was hearing bad rumours that villagers at ALUU, the host community of UNIPORT had murdered four students.

    “I immediately rushed to the scene only to see my son’s dead body being taken away naked to a mortuary in UNIPORT Teaching Hospital.

    “I could not believe my eyes and I collapsed.

    “What did my son do? What did the other three young men who died with him do?

    “First, we heard that the four students were alleged to have stolen a Blackberry phone and a laptop computer.

    “This could not be further from the truth. My son had a Blackberry phone and in fact a laptop computer since he was in primary school.

    “No way could my son steal such a common thing as a cell phone which every village woman now owns.

    “We have been subjected to several gory videos and pictures on the internet.

    “This shows that someone filmed the whole barbarism from beginning to the end.

    “My son and his friends were savagely beaten and burnt to death while villagers at Aluu watched.

    “All this has been caught on film!

    “The video shows that all this was filmed in broad day light which suggests that they were killed after 7.30 am.

    “Further investigation has revealed that they left their friend’s house at ALUU at about 7 am to go and prepare for lectures.

    “To waylay them and beat them with planks until they died like chicken is the most savage thing one can witness in Nigeria of 2012.

    “First they were stripped naked, marched around like frogs and then beaten to death. What savagery and bestiality.

    My husband and I want only two things, namely: a) To clear the name of Chiadika, b) justice.

    “Your Excellency, every responsible parent knows what I, my husband, and the entire family are passing through over this beastly murder.

    “We do not want this thing to be swept under the rug like most Nigerian investigations.

    “We seek the help and intervention of the Senate to ensure that justice is done.

    “Justice is the only thing that can assuage the pains and emotional traumas consuming us and clear the name of our son so that he can rest in peace.

    “Again, and for emphasis, the film shows everything in clear view and all the perpetrators must answer for their crimes.

    “We want justice. Those who murdered my son must face the wrath of the law.”

    “Heartbroken mother, Mrs. Chinwe, BIRINGA BI.”