The Nation Newspaper

Tag: mob

  • Angry mob lynch Mopol Officer in Gombe

    Angry mob lynch Mopol Officer in Gombe

    A policeman was Tuesday lynched to death by an angry mob in Gombe metropolis, the state Police Command has confirmed.

    Spokesman for the Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Fwaje Atajiri confirmed the report with a warning that people must not take the laws into their hands.

    He described the incident as regrettable and condemned in entirety, the action of the mobbed policeman for shooting the deceased that led to his lynching.

    Atajiri explained that “even with the shooting of the deceased, which was wrong, the Police officer showed restrain while the dangerous angry mob was after him because, out of the 30 rounds of ammunition released to him, 29 were found intact.”

    Eyewitness account has it that a certain Police Corporal, 38 year old Adamu Abba was hit on his motorbike by a commercial tricycle operator (Keke NAPEP) at Bello Sabon Kudi Junction while on his way to work.

    He added that while the corporal was trying to ensure that the person that hit him and destroyed his motorcycle was brought to justice, other tricycle and motorcycle operators gathered and tried to cover up for the Keke NAPEP operator for their colleague.

    He said when arguments became heated and more crowds attracted; the angered Mobile Police Corporal in self defence shot and killed 37-year old Mallam Gana who was at the fore front of those trying to prevail over him on the matter.

    It was gathered that he thereafter ran into the office of the Secretary of the Gombe Emirate Council for cover while he called his other superior colleagues and explained the matter to them.

    However, before the arrival of the Police, the mob forced its way into the Secretary’s office and lynched the Mobile police personnel to death.

  • Armed robbery suspect nabbed by victim, mob

    Armed robbery suspect nabbed by victim, mob

    Luck ran out for a suspected robber when he was apprehended by his would-be victim and some residents of Okoafo on Badagry Expressway, Lagos.

    Tunde Animasaun and two others had attempted to rob a supermarket attendant at gun point.

    The attendant’s distress call attracted residents; but Animasaun’s colleagues fled.

    Parading Animasaun yesterday at the Lagos State Police Command in Ikeja, the command’s spokesperson, Ken Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said the suspect is a member of a three-man gang that attacked a supermarket about 9pm in February.

    Nwosu said two others Abiodun and Sodeeq, a commercial motorcyclist, are at large.

    Animasaun, 25, said the operation was his first.

    He said:  “We were three myself, Abiodun and the okada rider. We went to rob a chemist man; Abiodun pointed a gun at him and asked me to pack some of the provision in his shop including money. The third member is not known to me before. It was Abiodun that told me that he is a member of our gang.

    “His role is to take us to a robbery operation scene and take us back on his motorcycle. We share money and loot equal. Two of them escaped on the motorcycle when the chemist man grabbed me and wrestled with me and start shouting for help.

    “When they brought me before the officer in charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a superintendent of police SP Abba Kyari, he asked me about my parents. I told him that my father had died. My mother took care of me from primary school to junior secondary school. When there was no money to continue, I started learning furniture work but there was no money to do freedom. It was my friend Abiodun that lured me into armed robbery work. He told me that with armed robbery operations, I would be able to get enough money to do any big business of my choice and open big furniture workshop in Lagos.

    “I was arrested in my first operation. If I am released, I will never rob again. Police and my mother will be my witnesses. It is better to be a poor man than to be an armed robber. I will not smoke Indian hemp again. I will face my furniture work and help my mother before I marry. I will marry a nurse to reduce cost of family health care.”

  • Calabar fans mob Mikel

    Calabar fans mob Mikel

    • Take snapshots with Omeruo, Igiebor

    Chelsea of England’s mercurial midfielder, John Mikel Obi was at his ebullient self yesterday during his first training session with the Super Eagles as he was seen chatting with the fans after the team’s evening training session at the UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar.

    He was consistently hailed by his fans who have special love for English Premier League side, Chelsea and Mikel was all smiles acknowledging their support for him.

    As the evening session expired  the fans formed a barricade around the exit  waiting for the Eagles and especially Mikel to pass.

    They touched him mildly and Mikel was also spotted making passes at his fans as he made his way out of the main bowl of the UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar while his fans continued with their rendition of kerenke Obi! Kerenke Obi! on numerous occasions.

    SportingLife also saw fans taking photographs with some of their beloved Eagles’ stars including Kenneth Omeruo, Nosa Igiebor and Chigozie Agbim who was impressive during the practice session making various saves .

    Nigeria’s Eagles will entertain the Red Devils of Congo in an AFCON qualifying tie on Saturday in Calabar and thereafter proceed to Cape Town in South Africa for another date with the Bafana Bafana on September 10.

    The Eagles are the reigning champions of the AFCON and they must overcome Sudan, South Africa and Congo if they are to defend their title in Morocco next year.

  • Mob attacks woman with her dead child

    A mob descended yesterday on a middle-aged woman for allegedly being in possession of a dead child in Mile 2, a popular Lagos suburb.

    It was gathered that the woman had taken the child, 5, to the hospital, but the child died because she could not afford the cost of blood transfusion.

    The woman, simply identified as Florence, a mother of three, who hails from Kwale in Delta State, said the boy was her third child.

    Sources said she was carrying the boy in her back when passersby noticed that he was dead.

    A mob gathered and descended on the woman, alleging she stole the child and used him for ritual. But for the timely intervention of a team of policemen attached to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), she would have been set ablaze.

    The victim said: ”I was born in Lagos. I have three children; nothing is wrong with me. My late boy’s name is Chidi; he was five years old and had been very sick. He needed blood transfusion but I couldn’t afford the money. He died three days ago. Before he died, we wanted to travel back to the village. My husband stays in Port Harcourt.

    “The paper where I wrote his number has been destroyed by rain. I don’t have any relation in Lagos. I was living under a staircase in one of the shops located in Alaba Market. A security man allowed my son and I to sleep there at night. I didn’t steal any baby, I didn’t kill any child.

    “I was carrying Chidi on my back after he died when people gathered this morning and started beating me. What have I done to deserve this kind of beating? If not for policemen they would have beaten me to death.”

  • Man burnt to death in Ekiti

    Man burnt to death in Ekiti

    The lynching of a kidnap suspect by an irate mob in Ikere-Ekiti, Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State, has thrown up issues about the growing tendency among the people to take the law into their hands, SULAIMAN SALAWUDEEN reports

    Penultimate Sunday was a particularly bad day in Ikere-Ekiti, Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State, when an alleged kidnapper and ritualist was apprehended by the people and later set ablaze.

    Time was 7.40 in the morning and the man (name unknown) reportedly in his 40s was sighted by a commercial motorcyclist emerging from a bush located at Eyitayo Housing Estate, Moshood area, Ikere-Ekiti.

    On sighting the man, the motorcyclist was said to have made few frantic calls to residents around the area and the man was promptly arrested. He was said to be carrying, at the time, a black polythene bag containing what was described as a mutilated but fresh body of a boy whose age could not be ascertained.

    The people reportedly forced the man back into the bush to know his actual mission where they saw objects which looked most like fresh human parts covered with fresh blood.

    The mob which had now formed brought him out of the said bush again and then dealt him blows, using all manner of objects, before they took him to the local vigilance group called the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), in the town.

    But they (the mob) reportedly numbering about fifty seized him from the vigilance group, brought him to Odo-Oja main road, stripped him naked and while still in the unconscious state, heaped upon him about ten used tyres, doused all in petrol and in seconds, he was up in flames.

    An eye witness had said the man had earlier been handed over to the Oodua Peoples Congress in the belief that they would ‘deal’ with him but “they schemed to protect and shield him.”

    “We were looking at them after he had been handed over. We expected he would be tortured but they (vigilance group members) did no such thing. They kept him there and wasted our time. At a point we got angry and we moved in and took him to the main road close to a bank and burnt him.

    “Just last week, a kidnapper escaped here in this town with some collusion and support among certain elements. We did not want that to happen again. To catch a kidnapper and allow him to escape is the worst thing that can happen in a community. That criminal would return to perpetrate worse crime,” the eyewitness said.

    While investigations are currently ongoing to bring perpetrators to justice and discourage a repeat of the act, The Nation investigations revealed that criminal activities like that were not unique to Ikere alone, other towns in Ekiti State, including Igede and Omuo have lately recorded such occurrences as well.

    In Omuo-Ekiti, a 12-year-old girl sent by her mother on an errand was waylaid by suspected relative and killed for ritual purposes.

    According to a source, the girl who was sent to deliver food to her grandmother was pursued and stopped by her mother’s brother as she was returning from her granny’s place. She was said to have been taken to a small house where she was killed and some parts of her body, including her brain removed The Omuo case was generally believed to be a case of ritual killing.

     

    Police reaction

     

    In a swift reaction, the  State Police Commissioner, Felix Uyanna, condemned the burning of the suspect, saying it was unlawful for people to take laws into their hands, adding that “the Command will deal with whoever is found engaging in such.”

    Mr Uyanna, while maintaining that the act “was regrettable and inhuman” said in a statement that the state police command”is dismayed at the ugly incident of mob attack/killing/burning of a yet to be identified citizen at Ikere.

    “The supposed victim of the alleged crime is also unknown and that the flimsy excuse or suspicion of being a kidnapper if allowed is a recipe for anarchy, especially now that a major election is afoot.

    “The Command hereby warns members of the public to desist from taking laws into their hands, rather reports of any incidents of commission of crime or any suspicion whatsoever should be made at the nearest police station as anyone arrested in connection with any lawless act will be made to face the full weight of the law,” Uyanna said.

    While some of the suspects were said to have been arrested and making useful confessions, the fact according to the police remains that residents themselves have to support the police in securing the communities.

    At a recent chat with journalists in the state, the Police Commissioner stressed that security had become everyone’s business and that people have to be interested in who is moving where and at whatever time.

    While residents have continued to condemn the abandonment of Eyitayo Housing Estate, where the man was reportedly found, The Nation findings reveal that the estate used to be the site of a proposed central market when Ise, Emure, and Ilawe were still under Ikere Local Government about thirty-years ago.

    According to a source, “The place at a time was being prepared for a large local market. But the local government failed to implement this before the separation of the council into Ise, Emure, Ilawe and Ikere local government areas.

    A resident around the area said: “We have been having meetings in this place because of the tendency of criminals to use that place (Eyitayo Estate), but most times when decisions are taken, it would not be implemented.

  • Mob vandalise police officer’s mansion over alleged ritual cell

    Mob vandalise police officer’s mansion over alleged ritual cell

    A mob stormed a three storey building in Abeokuta the Ogun State capital on Monday and  vandalised the glass window panes as they pelted it with stone, steel and other objects following allegation of the existence of an underground cell  for ritual in the house.

    They were on the verge of battering the high perimeter wall surrounding the building to gain entry and apparently to torch it but for the quick arrival of a security personnel from the State Security Service(SSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC), Special Anti – Robbery Squad(SARS) and Policemen from Eleweran who fought off the mob and saved the building from being set ablaze.

    Two lady – tenants who were the only found inside the house  on Agogo – Ogun compound, Ijaiye area panicked and scampered to safety on sighting the surging youths that besieged the compound.

    They mob were acting on the allegation that the house, believed to be owned by a retired senior police officer, harbor an  underground cell where ritual syndicates go for supply of flesh blood and human parts.

    Not even the sporadic firing of gunshot into the air by the police could make the resolute mob in their hundreds beat a retreat as they said they would not leave the compound until every part of is searched.

    When the tension heightened by noon, the Balogun of Ijaiye and Aare of Egbaland, Alh. Ganiyu Babayedun Alimo, was called in to douse the tension and upon his arrival to the scene, he was said to have instructed that the gate be broken so that a search could be conducted on the building.

    For almost an hour, a search team comprising the Balogun Ijaiye, youth leader, selected natives, SSS, SARS, NSCDC, Police, operative of the Vigilante Service of Ogun State(VSO) combed every room, toilet and enclosure within the expanse house that looked odd in a depressed, dingy and seedy Ijaiye compound and found no underground cell.

    The Balogun appealed to the curious crowd and irate youth – mob who had been spoiling to bring the building down if their suspicion was confirmed, to disperse while the police also fired into the air several times to scare people away.

  • Mob kills Customs officer at Lagos border

    Two Customs officers were yesterday reportedly lynched at the Lagos-Seme border by angry youths over the death of a motorist identified as Saturday. But the Customs confirmed one officer dead.

    Saturday was said to have been shot dead by a Customs officer around Operation Two Area while attempting to smuggle rice into Benin Republic.

    His death angered onlookers who moblised stormed the Customs post at the border. They claimed that two others had earlier been shot dead by the Customs.

    The mob was said to have burnt a Customs’ patrol vehicle.

    The yet-to-be-identified officers, it was learnt, were heading for work. The mob also burnt their car.

    An argument, it was said, ensued between Saturday and the unidentified officer who reportedly killed him.

    It took the intervention of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Seme, Mohammed Mu’Azu, and the border patrol unit of the Nigerian Army, to restore normalcy.

    Customs sources confirmed that Saturday was shot because he attempted to escape after he was caught, adding: “He did not die, he was injured and he is currently receiving treatment.”

    A source debunked the allegation by the residents that the officers shoot indiscriminately and attack them at will.

    Customs’ spokesperson Ernest Olottah said their men were attacked because they had conscientiously tackled smuggling at the border.

    In a statement made available to The Nation, he said: “It is with heavy and sorrowful heart that the Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) announces the gruesome killing of one of our senior officers by some smugglers in the Ashipa area of Seme on Thursday August 29 (yesterday).

    “The deceased officer, while in his official uniform, unarmed and driving to the command’s headquarters for a routine meeting, was accosted by a mob, which forced him out of his vehicle. Buoyed by an identified chief of the community, the officer was murdered in cold blood and his vehicle set ablaze.

    “It is worthy of note that the intensification of our anti-smuggling operation, which has led to over 686 seizures since January, has placed us in the danger of attacks like this from criminals. These criminals are those being prevented from using the border for the anti-economic and other nefarious activities. Our operatives, owing to their uncompromising stance against smuggling and protecting the nation’s economy, have come under series of attacks by smugglers and some unpatriotic elements, who see smuggling as their right.”

    Olottah added: “Attempts made at disarming some of our operatives in the recent past were rebuffed Comptroller Othman Abdu Saleh, Customs Area Controller of Seme Border, has in collaboration with sister government agencies including the police, commenced moves to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book. But he has affirmed that this unfortunate incident will not deter operatives of the command under his watch from carrying out their lawful duties.”

  • Stop the mob

    Imagine a 12-year-old boy held by a mob over allegations that he wanted to kidnap a child.

    Much as he tries to deny the accusation, recounting how he found himself begging on the streets, the mob couldn’t be persuaded.

    The moment the woman he claimed was his mother denied him before the fierce mob that seemed set to dish out instant justice to mother and child, the lad had a tyre put on him, sprayed with petrol and was burnt alive.

    The above instance is unfortunately a real situation that played out in Lagos some years ago.  A professional film maker, Abimbola Ogunsanya, who stumbled on the incident managed to record the harrowing  video of Samuel’s lynching which is the basis of a new online campaign tagged “Don’t Walk Away”, launched in Lagos recently.

    Samuel’s story as the campaigners rightly noted is a vivid example of the gross injustice and horrific cruelty of mob killing which is becoming prevalent at the slightest excuse in some parts of the country.

    It is not certain how many innocent persons have been killed in situations similar to Samuel’s case where allegations could not be substantiated.

    The killing of the ‘Aluu 4’ in Rivers State last October is a good instance of why mob justice should be discouraged. From all indications, there was no conclusive evidence that the late students committed any offence to warrant the dastardly way they were killed.

    I found it hard to understand how members of the community watched the whole drama unfold as the students were marched naked through the streets, beaten and eventually burnt alive.

    Considering the high rate of crime in the country, it is understandable why many would not hesitate to support instant justice for especially criminals caught ‘in the act’. When people recall their harrowing experiences with robbers and other criminals, they cannot be easily persuaded to spare anyone caught to be handed over to the police for prosecution.

    Instead of being prosecuted to prevent them from indulging in crimes or serve as a deterrent to others, many criminals have gotten away for various reasons including lack of diligent prosecution by the police. Some simply bribe their way out and it is not unusual to find some criminals back on the streets days after they were arrested in full glare of the public.

    Notwithstanding the situation, I still find it difficult to support mob justice.  There have been cases of miscarriage of justice when the mobs take the law into their hands. There have been false alarms that have led to the killing of innocent persons for offences they did not commit.

    It is hoped that “Don’t Walk Away” campaign will convince Nigerians about the need to shun mob violence or jungle justice and motivate them to intervene to prevent future lynching.

    I wish to lend my voice to the campaign that “mob justice needs to be stopped before it starts”.

    It could be risky though, sometimes, to try to stop the mob but we must try.

    “When the finger is raised, and before the thugs move in and take over, we need to raise a hand and say no to ‘justice’ on the streets. The solution to mob justice starts with all of us.”

    www.dontwalkaway.co.ng is a platform where people can post their views and experiences of mob justice.

    Twitter: @lotufodunrin

  • UNIPORT Four killings: Ruler incited mob, says IG

    UNIPORT Four killings: Ruler incited mob, says IG

    –Why police couldn’t stop them

    –Community leader, 18 others arrested

     

    MORE details emerged yesterday on how four University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) students were lynched in Aluu on October 5.

    The community’s traditional ruler instigated the mob action, Police Inspector-General Mohammed Abubakar said.

    A preliminary report, which the IG personally signed, said security information showed that Alhaji Hassan Welewa, the traditional ruler of Aluu in Omikiri community, Ikwere Local Government, River State, and 18 others being held for the killings, were culpable.

    The four lynched students are: Ugunna Obuzor (18) Geology, Lloyd Toku (19) 200 Level Civil Engineering, Tekena Elkanah, 20, (Diploma Technical) and Chiadaka Odinga, 20, (200 Level Theatre Arts).

    The police said they were unable to stop the mob because they were chased away by stone-throwing assailants, who accused the students of stealing laptops and mobile telephones.

    The lynchings have caused outrage, with a video showing the gruesome killings of the victims, aged 18-20, circulating through social media.

    “The police on getting to the scene met a mob attack on four victims who were supposedly the suspected armed robbers,” the statement said.

    “Attempts made by the police patrol team to take over the suspects were met with stiff opposition from the mob, who chased the team with stones.”

    The four police officers at the scene then called for reinforcements, but they arrived after the victims were “stoned and burnt to death, while the mob immediately took to their heels,” the statement said.

    It was not clear why police did not shoot into the air or fire tear gas as is often done to disperse crowds.

    The IG statement reads: “Intelligence report implicated Alhaji Hassan Welewa as being the person who incited the mob to unleash terror on the victims. Further investigation conducted by the police indicates that four (4) suspects, namely: Felemo Solomon; Cynthia Chinwo; Ozioma Abajuo and Chigozie Samuel Evans have been closely linked to this barbarous act.

    “The victims had gone to the area, where they met their unfortunate death earlier that morning, to demand for money allegedly owed to them by Coxson Lelebori Lucky, alias Bright, who raised a false alarm that the victims were armed robbers. Although Coxson has gone underground, detectives are on his trail.

    “Investigation is ongoing with efforts being intensified to track down others who are involved in the incident. Those who are found culpable shall be prosecuted

    “Efforts are being intensified to establish the motives behind this crime, arrest all who may be directly or indirectly connected with the crime and eventually bring all indicted persons to book.”

    The IGP added that normalcy had been restored in the area and that the university and other tertiary institutions within the area were being closely monitored.

    He maintained that policemen, including detectives had been deployed in the area to assist the police, with a view to forestalling any untoward reactions.

    Abubakar promised that the police would take every legitimate step within the ambit of the law to ensure that perpetrators of the dastardly act are identified and made to face the law.

    He advised members of the public against taking the law into their hands, stressing that two wrongs can never make a right.

    “More so, it is criminal and against the laws of the land and those that do so will surely be made to face the full wrath of the law.

    “I wish to use this medium to advise and appeal to Nigerians to see it as their civic obligation in the fight against crime and criminality and to assist security agencies in the discharge of their responsibilities.

    “Security is everybody’s responsibility and so, should not be abandoned in the hands of security agencies alone. The maximum cooperation of the public is needed to ensure that Nigeria is safe for all.”

  • Edo traders mob govt official

    A member of the Edo State Environmental Protection and Regulatory Unit, Mr. Henry Isibor, has died at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) after he was beaten up by traders at the Oba Market Road in Benin.

    Isibor was said to be on an official assignment to get rid of traders selling on the walk-ways when he was mobbed.

    Executive Director of the Environmental Protection and Regulatory Unit Maj. Lawrence Loye (rtd.) confirmed the incident.

    Loye said his men were working on his instructions not to fight the traders, but they will henceforth defend themselves, if attacked.

    He said the traders injured his men, some critically, leading to Henry’s death.

    Loye presented some cash to Henry’s widow, Joy, and their four children.