A suspected motorcycle thief, said to be an ex convict, was on Tuesday lynched and set ablaze by an angry mob in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
The incident occurred around 8 am along Kashim Ibrahim Way, close to Railway Quarters, after the suspect allegedly stabbed a commercial motorcyclist several times and made away with his bike.
An eyewitness, who preferred not to be named, said, “and on getting to where he said was his destination, he stabbed the rider multiple times from behind and took away his motorbike.
“But some people who noticed what happened immediately raised the alarm, and the youths chased and got hold of him.
“They recovered the motorbike and beat him to death, after which they set his body on fire.”
He explained that the victim died while being rushed to the hospital.
“It quite unfortunate that the young man came out this morning to look for his daily bread only to be killed in such a manner by a motorbike snatcher.
“It obviously angered the people around the area that was why they mobbed him to death and burnt his body.”
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer in Benue State, DSP Udeme Edet, said the deceased suspect was recently released from prison.
According to him, “the suspect was recently released from prison custody.
“But the mob action is condemanble and the Commissioner of Police recently warned that people should desist from such. Investigations is already ongoing over the matter.”