A yet-to-be-identified man, suspected to be a bike thief, was on Friday, set ablaze by hoodlums in the outskirts of Mokwa town, Niger State.
The incident, WikkiTimes gathered, happened around 8: 30 am, near Sogbafo Hotel, opposite United Bank Of Africa (UBA), along Lagos-Kaduna road.
An eyewitness who spoke to WikkiTimes said the suspect attempted to hijack a Bajaj motorcycle from a motorcyclist in a garage area.
“When he was caught by those who set him on fire, they (mobs) attempted to hand him over to Vigilante men for further probing. The mobs didn’t attempt to kill him in the first instance but he injured one of the men who caught him”, said the eyewitness
“On their way to Vigilante’s office, the suspect was looking for a way to escape and even injured one of the people on the bike while on their way,” he added. “It was at the point they set him on fire.”
Mohammed Abdullahi, Social Welfare Officer for Mokwa local council could not be reached at press time. His line was unavailable and a text message sent to him had not been responded to.
Also, Wasiu Abiodun, spokesman for Niger Police Command, was not available for comments.
On September 11, 2021, a similar incident sparked outrage when patrol soldiers handed a thief to a mob for jungle justice. Eleven days after, hoodlums numbering about 30 killed and set ablaze a suspected bike snatcher at Sawmill axis of the town.
