An angry mob on Saturday set five suspected robbers ablaze at Nkpor, near Onitsha, Anambra State.
It was gathered that the suspected robbers were set on fire after they failed in their attempt to snatch telephone handsets from passers-by in the area.
An eyewitness revealed that the suspects usually use a tricycle to rob unsuspecting members of the public of their telephones, bags, money and other valuables in the area.
The source, who did not want his name in print for security reasons, said, “The suspects have been unleashing terror on members of the public in the past few days.
“They use a tricycle to rob people of their belongings after which they flee but they ran out of luck when they were apprehended by angry youths who set them on fire while attempting to rob some passers-by of their phones.”
A video from the scene showed when one of the suspects was still moving as the fire was burning him and surrounded by the crowd, who were still throwing objects at him, while his accomplices were also burning in the fire.
When contacted on Sunday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, condemned the act and urged the people to always take suspects to police stations whenever they are apprehended as this will help the security operatives.
Ikenga, however, said five telephone handsets of different brands and a tricycle suspected to have been stolen by the suspects were recovered from the scene of the incident.
He said, “Before police operatives got to the scene at about 5.30pm, the suspects had already been set ablaze. The operatives recovered five phones of different brands and a tricycle suspected to have been stolen by the suspects who were lynched.
“Meanwhile, the command condemns this act in totality and has always encouraged the public to take suspects to police stations whenever they are apprehended. This will help the police to conduct proper investigations into the activities of the suspects and bring them to justice under extant laws.”
