Traders set suspected thief ablaze - Shepherd Digest Magazine

Some traders at Alaba-Rago Park on Badagry Expressway yesterday allegedly burnt a man to death for stealing.

They left his body on the road covered with ashes and metals from the tyres used in burning him.

The man was said to have stolen a phone.

An eyewitness, Amangala Iburene, who shared the picture of the man’s body on social media, decried the jungle justice given to him, wondering where the police were.

According to him, “A man was set ablaze by the traders. He was burnt to death. How long would things continue this way? Where are the policemen? Does any man have a right to set a fellow man ablaze? Only God would save this country.”

A woman, Chi New, who said she watched the scene from the window of her vehicle, queried why nobody stopped the barbarism.

She said: “Why jungle justice? On a Monday morning at that! Okay, he’s a thief; why not take him to the right authorities? I sat by the window and the way vehicles were being directed to a lane at Alaba- Rago had me poke my head out to know the cause for this delay.

“What an eyesore of a human being burnt to death. The crowd that gathered to witness such amazed me. No single sane person to do the needful. No armed official at the scene to disperse the crowd or prevent this from happening. This young man was just sent to an early grave in a grievous manner.”

The picture of the body sparked outrage on social media, with many demanding that the perpetrators be arrested and prosecuted.

The Deputy Spokesman for the police command, Ifeanyi Iheanachor, an Assistant Superintendent (ASP) confirmed the incident, adding that the suspect was lynched for allegedly snatching a motorcycle.

He said: “The DPO said the incident occurred around 5am or 6am. that they got information that a man who snatched a motorcycle from its owner was speeding off when he got stuck on a bad portion of the road. The owner screamed and road users got him. they used the petrol in the motorcycle to set him abalze. by the time police got there, nobody was at the scene. Only his charred body and the motorcycle were seen. his body has been handed over to Ministry of Environment and the motorcycle was taken to the station.”