From Ahmad SAKA, Bauchi
Bauchi State Police Command has commenced investigation in to the killings of suspected motorcycle thief allegedly set ablaze by youth in chinade village of Katagum Local Government Area.
A statement by Command Police Public Relations Officer ,SP Ahmed Mohammed Wakili, said The Commissioner of Police Bauchi State Command, Umar Mamman Sanda ordered a thorough investigation into what it described as a barbaric and dehumanising act of jungle justice meted on the suspect by some irate youths in Chinade.
Sanda frowned at the action of the irate youths, who instead of taking the suspect to the Police for proper investigation and prosecution, mobbed the suspect for allegedly stealing a motorcycle without any recourse to the law.
He said the Commissioner described the act as “barbaric and inimical to the law governing our dear country”.
Commissioner warned Bauchi State indigenes that the Command under his stewardship will not allow some recalcitrant in the society to take the laws into their hands by killing suspects arrested for an alleged crime in such a dehumanising and unlawful manner.
He said that nobody has the right to treat a suspect in such a barbaric manner stressing that it is wrong for anyone to assume the position of a law enforcement agency.
Sanda said that any suspect apprehended in connection with any crime should be immediately handed over to the Police or any law enforcement agencies saddled with the responsibility of investigating and prosecuting such.
The Commissioner of Police appealed to the public to be calm, as the Police Command is already mopping up those responsible for this gruesome act for possible prosecution
Residents of the area said angry mob attracked a middle-aged man whose identity has not been revealed suspected as motorcycle thief ablaze.
An eye witness said The Mob beat the suspect to a pulp and later set him ablaze, on the allegation of theft of a motorcycle earlier in the day at Hardawa in Misau Local Government Area of the state.
Residents of Chinade told our reporter that the man had allegedly stolen the motorcycle in Hardawa market and ran away before he was trailed to Chinade which is not far away from Hardawa but in a different LGA, when he was discovered in Chinade, an alarm was raised which attracted a crowd that later turned into a mob, seized him and unleashed beating on him,
Not satisfied with the beating, the mob set him ablaze and watched him burnt to death.
