The burning of five armed robbery suspects in the Mushin area of Lagos state last weekend, has continued to generate ripples even as indications emerged that three persons have been arrested to assist the police in its investigations.
We gathered that the the deceased were part of a larger group based in the Akala area of Mushin, a street notorious for the sale of cocaine, heroin and other hard drugs. They were seven in number who had robbed the Ilupeju community at about 3 am last Saturday. Although residents admit there was indeed robbery, none was however willing to say who the victims were and how the robbers were captured.
We gathered that a team of policemen from the Olosan Police Division arrived at the scene of the incident before the suspected robbers were burnt. However, their captors had allegedly refused to hand them over to the police.
“There is no way the police would not have heard when the robbers were caught. The news spread like wild fire and a large crowd gathered at the post. Although the police team pleaded with the crowd to hand over the boys to them, they refused. The Ilupeju community was scared of reprisals and that is the reason they burnt the boys.
“The residents could not trust the police. If those boys had lived, they would definitely come back to kill those who captured them. Law abiding citizens who live in Mushin have lost faith in the police force because they know all these boys.
“At Lasisi and Ojo streets are some MOPOL patrol vehicles permanently parked. These police teams are aware that the Akala boys are armed and dangerous but what do they do? Anytime they arrest any of them, all they do is beat them until their people come to buy their freedom with money,” another resident said.
When the suspected robbers were set ablaze after they had been severely beaten, eyewitnesses claimed that the leader of the group known to his peers as Bode, did not go up in flames.
“You know these boys are usually involved in a lot of fetish things for protection. When all the boys were set on fire, Bode was the only one who didn’t burn but his other colleagues were burning. His head had to be broken with a piece of block before he eventually burned along with the rest.
The Lagos police command spokes person, Ngozi Braide in response to the text message and calls made to her phone, said, “It is not true that policemen were (sic) arrived the scene before the suspects were killed. From what I was briefed, the lynching took place at about 2am that morning. It was an RRS team on patrol who discovered the bodies burning and alerted the DPO of the Olosan division. Arrests have already been made although I cannot confirm for now the identities of those arrested but investigation is on and the law must take it’s course. Even if the suspects were guilty, no one is too take the law into their hands.”
