Mob burns suspected robber to death in Aba

An angry mob lynched and burnt to death a suspected armed robber who was among a gang of seven that invaded Eziama area in Aba yesterday.

The incident occurred at Uche Street in Eziama, Aba North Local Government Area in the early hours of yesterday.

Spokesman for the Abia State police command, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He said: “We got the information this morning that a gang of seven armed robbers attacked the residents of Eziama, Aba and robbed them of their household valuables which included televisions, palmtops, mobile phones and other properties.’’

Ogbonna added that the police had launched an investigation to discover both the identity of the suspect and those who killed him instead of turning him over to the police. “The hoodlums, armed with machetes and locally made guns, left after they thought that they had succeeded.

“But luck ran against one of them who was caught by the irate mob and they burnt him to death. We are nosing around to find out the identity of the burnt suspect because when things like this happen, people will be skeptical to talk to the police,” he said.

Ogbonna warned people not to take laws into their hands in any circumstance but to report any matter to the police for proper resolution.

“If they had caught him and handed him over to the police, we would have extracted some helpful information from him that could lead to the arrest of other gang members. But now that they have killed him, it has become more difficult,” the police spokesman said.

He said that some of the valuables the robbers forcefully took from their owners at gunpoint had been recovered.