ANGRY youths today set ablaze a suspected thief over alleged theft of a mobile phone. The incident happened in the early hours of the day at Winners Way, Bashorun in Ibadan, Oyo state.
Narrating the incident, the owner of the phone, a male, who pleaded anonymity said the person burnt and his accomplices now at large had asked of the way leading to Iwo Road, which he described how the place could be located, but to his surprise, they turned and asked him to hand over his phone to them.
He explained that immediately they snatched the phone from him, they instantly took to their heels but one of them met his waterloo having failed to escape with others.
“The irate youths caught him; he was beaten to a stupor before they eventually set him ablaze,” he said
Reacting to the incident, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Agodi Divisional Headquarters, Iwo Road, CSP Oyekan Afeez Alabi, disclosed that he and his men tried to stop irate youths from setting the burnt suspect ablaze but all to no avail.
He said, “Immediately we were alerted of the development, we swung into action. When we got to the scene, we found out that they had placed a tyre around his (the burnt suspect) neck, wetted him with petrol and set him ablaze without listening to us.”
Oyekan cautioned people to avoid taking law unto their hands, stressing that jungle justice is an offence which men of the law and country at large would not allow.
