A suspected motorcycle thief was on Tuesday set ablaze by an angry mob along Ibrahim Kashim Road in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
According to eyewitness accounts, the suspect was part of a three-man gang that attacked a commercial motorcyclist and stabbed him with scissors in an attempt to snatch his bike. While trying to flee, one of the suspects fell and was overpowered by residents.
An eyewitness, Andrew Tergu, narrated that the mob descended on the suspect before dragging him to the main road, where he was set on fire.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Udeme Edet, said officers arrived at the scene to find the suspect already burnt. She disclosed that the deceased had only recently been released from a correctional facility after serving time for a similar offence.
Edet condemned the mob action, describing it as jungle justice, and warned that the command would no longer tolerate such acts.
