…It was a false alarm – Police
Gabriel Udeh, Kaduna
It was a drama of sort, on Monday in Kaduna, when a man declared as kidnapper was burnt to death and two others allegedly killed in the mob action that ensued.
The mob’s attacks occurred late in the morning in kawo, Kaduna North of Kaduna State.
State command Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Yakubu Sabo, however, told journalists that the mob’s action was based on the false alarm raised by one Alhaji Musa, adding that the burnt decease was not a kidnapper.
According to the PPRO, the mob reacted over false alarm raised by Alhaji Musa and made others descend on the suspect who came from Lagos on a mission, without any evidence.
He explained that, the said Alhaji Musa who deals in oil business had a problem with one of his business partner who reported the matter to Lagos State Police command, where Musa was invited and later detained.
“From the information available to us, his friends went there and secured his bail and he was released to them, and they became a surety, but after appearing to the Police, Musa disappeared. The surety were later invited and asked to produce him, it was then that the surety told the Police that he knows his resident in Kaduna, and they promised to take the Police there.
When they arrived Kaduna, they went straight to Musa’s house in Kawo, while the Police waited at a distance. When he sighted them, he sensed their mission and quickly jumped into his car and drove off. The surety followed him in their own car and blocked him before Kawo flyover bridge, where Musa jumped out of his car and raised a false alarm that the people running after him are Kidnappers.
“You know that Kawo flyover is a flashpoint, before you know, the Mob descended on the surety believing that they are Kidnappers, that is when we got the distress call and we move straight to the spot, we were able to rescue three of the surety but the driver was burnt to death, alongside with the vehicle.
In the process, the suspect Alhaj Musa escaped, and we are doing everything now to track him down”, he said.
DSP Yakubu, however, stated that only two people were killed in the unfortunate incident, saying the situation in the area has been calmed and under control, while the three surety are under Police protection.
He vowed that the Police will track down the fleeing Alhaji Musa.
Eyewitness account said one person was burnt to death and two others killed by a stray bullet fired by security operative deployed to the area scene to dispersed the rioting people and crowd during the mob actions.
