Two suspected armed robbers were lynched by a mob in the Baruwa area of Ijeshatedo, Surulere, Lagos, in the early hours of Wednesday after allegedly attempting to escape from residents who had apprehended them.
According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred around 5:15 a.m. when the suspects were caught during what was described as a failed robbery attempt.
Residents said the mob initially restrained the men with the intention of handing them over to the police, but turned violent after the suspects reportedly tried to flee.
“We only tied them up, but when they tried to run again, people became angry and attacked them,” one witness told The Guardian.
The gruesome killings took place near a primary school in the community, drawing condemnation from residents who decried the rise in mob violence and the failure of security agencies to respond promptly.
“It was a horrible sight,” said a resident, Miss Oluwabunmi. “If the police were doing their job properly, people wouldn’t take laws into their own hands. No one should be butchered like that in front of schoolchildren.”
Incidents of jungle justice have surged in parts of Lagos in recent months amid public frustration over rising crime and perceived police inefficiency. In June, a suspected motorcycle thief was set ablaze by a mob in the Alakuko area, while a similar incident occurred in July around the Ogunlana Drive axis of Surulere, just a few metres from Baruwa.
Human rights groups, including the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), have repeatedly condemned such acts, urging authorities to strengthen policing and ensure that suspects are prosecuted rather than executed by mobs.
Efforts to reach the spokesperson of the Cele Police Division were unsuccessful, as calls to the station went unanswered. Police sources, however, confirmed that the victims’ remains have been taken to the Isolo General Hospital mortuary while investigations are underway.
Despite repeated warnings from authorities, mob justice remains a recurring problem in Nigeria, with dozens killed annually in similar circumstances, according to Amnesty International.
