An alleged robber, whose identity was not verified at the time of filing this report, has been set ablaze by a mob in the Lugbe area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Friday morning.
The alleged robber was among a gang that has been terrorising the community, especially Lugbe Zone 9, for months, leading to early closure of businesses in the area.
The robbers, who usually come in motorcycles, always inflict injuries of various degrees on their victims, especially when faced with resistance from the unlucky victims.
However, luck ran out on one of them on Friday, May 24, when, after inflicting bodily injuries on one of their victims, an old man, the son, in company of other residents, gave them a chase and caught the unlucky scapegoat, who was immediately roasted alive; to serve as deterrent to his gang members.
Narrating the incident to Blueprint, a resident, Barrister Bright Uche, said the alleged robber made confessional statements before meeting his untimely death in the hand of the mob.
He said: “Thieves have been terrorising Lugbe, especially Lugbe Zone 9, for months now. Since this May, they come around to rob the area, at times twice or thrice in a month. That has caused many corner shops to always close up as early as 8pm; to escape such robberies.
“They usually operate with motorcycles, machetes, guns etc and can be as many as 20 per operation. That is nonetheless, the ones that usually come with single motorcycles to rob their victims. They would steal your money, valuables and when one try to resist them, they will shoot or cut the person with machetes and still go away with the stolen items.
“However, in the early hours of today, while it was raining, they came for their usual operation in a gang of not less than 15 persons: robbing houses and shops. They got to a house where they robbed a household. When their father tried begging them not to go away with the last money in his possession, they stabbed him severely. Fearing that he was dead, they took off.
“Fortunately, seeing his father groaning in pains, the first son of the man
gave them a chase. With the help of some other guys, they caught one person. They retrieved a cell phone from him. After confessing to being part of the gang, and calling the names of his gang members, they poured PMS on him and burnt him alive.”
