Some angry mobs in the Main Market, Onitsha, Anambra State, on Wednesday, set ablaze two suspected criminals who were allegedly terrorizing residents of Sokoto Road.
An eyewitness who confirmed the incident to Daily Trust noted that the suspects were caught attempting to forcefully rob a tricycle operator of his money and belongings within the market.
“The tricycle operator had dropped his passengers and their goods in the market, and as he was about to move, those boys approached him and were forcefully attempting to dispossess him of his money and others before the mobs descended on them, lynched them before setting them ablaze,” the eyewitness reportedly said.
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Confirming the incident, the state police spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, told newsmen that the Commissioner of Police, CP Aderemi Adeoye, frowned at the act and reiterated his call for members of the public to always take criminal offenders to the nearest police station for necessary actions.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Aderemi Adeoye, has condemned the act and reiterated his call for members of the public to always take criminal offenders to the nearest police station for necessary policing actions, particularly the conduct of appropriate investigations.
“The CP has, therefore, ordered a thorough investigation of the incident.
“Meanwhile, preliminary information revealed that the two male suspects, who were later simply identified as Omaume and Monday, are members of a notorious armed robbery gang led by one Itanda (male), already in the Correctional Service Custodial Centre.
“The gang is alleged to be responsible for several acts of attack and the dispossession of traders and unsuspecting victims of their personal belongings at the Main Market, Onitsha,” Ikenga added.
