Following a recent robbery incident in the area, angry residents in Anambra State’s Idemili North Local Government Area set a robbery suspect on fire.
According to reports, the suspects abducted a female occupant after robbing their victims.
They were said to be on their way back to their hideout when residents of a nearby community along St. Monica College, Ogbunike Road in the Oyi Local Government Area mobilized and intercepted them.
One of the suspects was said to have been set ablaze during the process.
While they apprehended one suspect, the remaining suspects allegedly fled the scene.
Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Toochukwu Ikenga, said police operatives in the area were alerted, but by the time they arrived, one of the two arrested suspects had already been set ablaze.
“In the early hours of May 3, 2023, police operatives attached to Ogbunike Division, while responding to a distress call along St. Monica College Road, Ogbunike, arrested one Jamui Emiron, 22, and recovered one already damaged yellow Mitsubishi L300 bus with number plate Anambra UKP 729 A,” Ikenga said.
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“The suspect was part of a gang of armed robbers who attacked and robbed residents of a residential house in Ezi-Ogidi, abducted a female victim, and were on their way to their den when police were called.”
“Members of the neighborhood had already assisted the police by blocking the area’s exit points, intercepting the vehicle, and apprehending two of the gang members, while others escaped.”
Unfortunately, when the police arrived, one of the suspects had already been set ablaze by the mob, and the criminals’ operational vehicle had been damaged. The operatives rescued the victim, arrested the second suspect, and impounded the vehicle.”
Ikenga went on to say that the rescued kidnapped victim is being treated at a hospital and that the suspect is assisting police with their investigation.
According to the PPRO, the state Commissioner of Police, Echeng Echeng, urged the people not to take the law into their own hands by resorting to jungle justice, and that all suspects should be handed over to the police for proper investigation.