On Tuesday, there was mayhem in Ilisan Remo, Ikenne Local Government, as a group of Hausa youths insisted on killing an army officer who was allegedly a member of a two-man gang that had attacked one of them and was attempting to flee on his motorcycle.
While one of the accused thieves was clubbed and burned to death, our correspondent, who was on the scene of the crisis, learned that the other young man, who was purported to be wearing an army uniform, had been stabbed and had managed to flee into one of the buildings.
But the young Hausa people rallied and promised to deal with the fugitive the same way they had dealt with his accomplice.
All entreaties by the leaders of the community and the police who first responded fell on their deaf ears as they insisted on killing the military personnel in hiding, explaining that they have suffered so much from those who usually attack them and collect their bikes.
Subsequently, a group of soldiers in two pickup vans approached, firing intermittently into the air, causing people to flee quickly for safety.
The Sagamu Area Command of the Nigeria Police had earlier responded with an armoured tank stationed at Ilisan junction to quell the crisis.
A resident of the town who craved anonymity told our correspondent that many of the Hausas have lost their motorcycles to these assailants.
He, however, condemned their insistence on taking laws into their own hands.
“Some of these Hausas have lost their motorcycles to these attackers in recent times but the right thing to do is to follow the law.
“It is wrong of them to be insisting on carrying out jungle justice. About three years ago, they nearly set the Ilisan police station on fire because they insisted on killing two suspected bike thieves who were being detained there.
“They killed one of the suspects today, and from what we have heard, the guy in the army uniform who escaped into one of the buildings might not survive too because he was cut with a knife. This can’t continue, it is wrong,” the source said.
The Chairman of Ilisan Development Association, Otunba Wemmy Osude, in a statement on Tuesday, said the Hausa youths apprehended two suspects for stealing a motorcycle (okada).
“One of the suspects was caught by a mob and tragically set on fire. The other suspect, who was dressed in an army uniform, sought refuge in a nearby house.
“A large crowd of over 200 young northerners gathered outside the house, demanding the release of the suspect. Despite efforts to disperse the mob, they remained defiant.
Published by Ejoh Caleb
