Saturday, February 7, 2026 - The Nasarawa State Police Command confirmed the lynching of a man identified as Samalia Zaria by an irate mob who accused him of k!lling a boy and removing his eyes.
The incident occurred in Tsohon Kasuwa area of Keffi town on
Thursday, February 5, 2026.
The victim of the mob action was said to have previously
worked as a guard at the Keffi Emirate Palace.
The body of the boy identified as Aliyu Muhammadu Lawal, was
discovered in a pit in a neighbouring compound with his eyes removed.
Sources said members of a local vigilante group had earlier
arrested Zaria and taken him into custody.
However, an angry crowd reportedly overpowered the
vigilantes, vandalised their office and lynched the suspect before security
operatives arrived.
Police officers who rushed to the scene were also attacked
by the mob, with some sustaining injuries.
The father of the deceased boy, Muhammadu Lawal, said he had
previously had a dispute with the suspect over alleged noise disturbance at
night, Daily Trust reported.
He added that he could not confirm if the disagreement was
connected to his son’s d3ath but had left the matter to God.
“I had been in conflict with this person because he was
disturbing us with loud sounds at night. I cannot say if our past disagreement
is connected to what happened to my son. I leave that to God.” he said.
He recounted finding his son’s body in a pit, with his eyes
removed, his neck cut, and signs of strangulation.
The spokesperson of the command, SP Ramhan Nansel, who
disclosed this in a statement on Friday said police received a distress call
around 12.30pm from a vigilante commander, Dogara Garba, reporting that a
suspect had been arrested in connection with the killing of a boy.
He said before police arrived, the crowd had overpowered the
vigilantes, vandalised their office and k!lled the suspect. The mob also
attacked responding officers.
According to the PPRO, the police team led by the Divisional
Police Officer later restored calm, evacuated the burnt body and deposited it
at the General Hospital in Keffi.
He added that investigations were ongoing to determine the
circumstances surrounding both d3aths.
“Yesterday, at about 12.30 hours, the police received a
distress call from one Dogara Garba, who is the vigilante commander of Sabon
Kasuwa area of Keffi, that an unknown suspect had been k!lled, who happened to
be a boy, and that they arrested one suspect and brought to their office. But
crowd has overwhelmed them, and they have vandalized the office. So, on receipt
of the information, the police now mobilized, led by the DPO, and they raced to
the scene,” the statement read.
"Before they arrived, the suspect had been k!lled and
set ablaze. And the mob attacked the police too, injuring some of the police
officers and shattered some of the vehicles. The police was able to douse the
tension and evacuated the suspect that was k!lled and burned to the hospital.”
Meanwhile, a traditional title holder in Keffi, Yahaya Ladan
Shafale, who holds the title of Kakakin Sarkin Keffi, confirmed that the
Emirate had distanced itself from the suspect.
He said Zaria was no longer working with the palace, having
been relieved of his duties earlier.
He condemned the killing of the teenager, describing the
incident as shocking and unprecedented in the town.
“We condemn this incident, which we have never witnessed in
our community. Keffi is a historic town and we pray such will not happen
again,” he added.
Residents have called for justice and urged authorities to
ensure those responsible for the mob action are brought to book.
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