Angry mob burns suspected motorcycle thief to death in Benue

Monday, January 12, 2026 - A mob on Sunday killed a suspected motorcycle thief opposite the Prime Power filling station in Makurdi.

According to Punch, the suspect allegedly snatched a motorcycle from an okada rider around Ahmadu Commisi Road in the Demekpe area of the town.

The motorcycle rider reportedly mobili sed youths in the area, who gave the suspect a hot chase before catching him at the Prime Power fuel station.

One of the youths, who identified himself as Tony, said, “After snatching the motorcycle from the owner, the thief sped off, and the youths who witnessed the incident decided to chase him.

“He was caught while waiting to cross the road, as vehicles coming from Ankpa Quarter Junction halted his escape.

“Immediately he was caught, the boys went to a vulcaniser’s workshop, brought out tyres and set him ablaze before a police patrol team from ‘D’ Division could arrive at the scene.”

The owner of the motorcycle, Onoja Okendu, thanked God for saving his life.

Okendu disclosed that he got the motorcycle on hire purchase at the cost of N2m in October 2025.

“This is how it happened. I was coming from the Wadata area through the NKST sharp bend towards the Modern Market. Immediately I passed the church, I saw this young man and, because it was Sunday, I thought he was coming out of the church when he stopped me and boarded the bike without saying anything.

“Immediately, he climbed onto the bike, and we moved towards the Demekpe Primary School. He asked me to stop, saying he forgot something. As I stopped, the next thing I saw was that he brought out a gun and asked me to run.

“I started running and at the same time shouting, ‘Thief! Thief!’ The people around the petrol station blocked him as he was waiting for other vehicles to pass before he could enter the main road. Other okada riders were also chasing him.”

The motorcyclist appealed to the government and security agencies to intensify surveillance, noting that motorcycles are often snatched at gunpoint in broad daylight despite restrictions on nighttime operations.

Efforts to get a reaction from the Benue State Police Command Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, were unsuccessful, as she did not pick up her calls or respond to text messages sent to her phone as of the time of filing this report.