Wednesday, September 4, 2024 -A yet-to-be-identified civilian has been clubbed to death and set ablaze by a mob in Ilisha-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State.
A soldier was also stabbed
by the group of commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada riders, in
the ensuing violence on Tuesday.
According to Daily Trust the
motorcyclists pounced on the duo over alleged theft of bikes.
It was further gathered
that the okada riders, especially those of the northern extraction, have lost a
number of their motorcycles to bike thieves in the community.
Locals
on Wednesday told our correspondent that the motorcyclists got hold of two
suspects, clubbed one to death and stabbed the second person identified to be a
soldier.
The second person wearing
an army uniform reportedly escaped into a building after being brutally
stabbed.
Witnesses said the angry
Okada riders after setting ablaze the young man’s corpse also, in their
large numbers, went after the soldier and insisted that he must be
produced to face death.
A detachment of soldiers
and police deployed to restore sanity later clashed with the mob, throwing the
community into further chaos.
A resident said “Some of
these persons have lost their motorcycles to these attackers in recent times
but the right thing to do is to follow the law.
“It is wrong of them to be
insisting on carrying out jungle justice. This was how they almost burned down
the police station about three years ago because they insisted on killing two
suspected bike thieves that were being held in custody at Ilisan police
station.
“Today, they have killed
one of the suspects and we gathered that the one wearing army uniform who
escaped into one of the buildings might not make it too because he had been
wounded with a knife. This can’t continue, it is wrong”.
The Chairman of Ilisan
Development Association, Otunba Wemmy Osude, in a statement, said, “One of the
suspects was caught by a mob and tragically set on fire. The other suspect, who
was dressed in an army uniform, sought refuge in a nearby house.
“A large crowd of over 200
young northerners gathered outside the house, demanding the release of the
suspect. Despite efforts to disperse the mob, they remained defiant. The
situation intensified until the Army intervened with a commando-style rescue operation,
successfully evacuating the suspect.”
The Spokesman of the
Nigerian Army 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta, Captain Idereghi Akari,
confirmed the incident on Wednesday, but he failed to give details of the
occurrence.
“The soldier is not a
thief. The deceased person is a civilian,” he said.
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