In Maraban Jos, Igabi Local Government Area, Kaduna State, a woman was allegedly accused of trying to steal children, which led to her being killed and burnt by an enraged mob.
Residents’ worries over what they characterised as persistent allegations of child theft in the region apparently set off the incident, which caused anxiety throughout the town.
According to Daily Trust, the victim, a mother and married woman, was accused by some young people of trying to steal children as she was travelling to an Islamic lecture.
According to witnesses, the claim circulated swiftly around the neighbourhood, drawing a sizable throng that attacked the woman before security guards could step in.
After that, she was brought to a local police station for safety and more inquiry.
Later on, though, things got worse when hundreds of young people reportedly gathered at the police station and demanded that the woman be given to them.
Residents claimed that despite security personnel’s attempts to defuse the situation, the throng refused to leave because they were incensed by reports of child theft in the region.
After overpowering security guards, the mob violently took the woman from custody and lit her on fire.
According to sources, police tried to re-establish order by firing warning shots. One young person was reportedly shot during the disturbance, while numerous others were hurt.
Our correspondent met with a local who was shocked by the situation and insisted that the woman was only on her way to an Islamic school at the time of the accusation.
It is unsettling that a single accusation might result in such a catastrophe. At the time of the accusation, she was a married woman with children who was allegedly attending Islamic classes.
“The mob went to the police station, took her out of custody, and burnt her even after she was brought there,” he claimed.
The resident also mentioned that when he got there at around 1:00 pm, the woman’s body was still there.
“The police need to have looked into this situation. Rather, individuals enforced the law on their own, he claimed.
Another young person in the neighbourhood claimed that stories of kid theft had caused residents to worry more and more, which he claimed increased public resentment and distrust.
The woman was attacked over what he called “fictitious allegations of child stealing,” according to DSP Mansir Hassan, the spokesperson for the Kaduna State Police Command, who confirmed the event.
He claims that at around ten in the morning, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Maraban Jos received a distress call stating that a woman was being beaten by a mob due to unsubstantiated accusations of child theft.
The woman was rescued and taken to the station for safety and inquiry after the DPO quickly led police to the area. Nevertheless, a sizable crowd eventually attacked and surrounded the police station, overpowered the on-duty cops, took the woman without her will, killed her, and burnt her body on fire, according to Hassan.
The incident was characterised by the police as “barbaric, criminal, and a direct assault on the rule of law.”
Hassan revealed that a manhunt for further offenders was underway, and that several individuals had been taken into custody in relation to the event.
He declared, “A thorough investigation has begun, and all offenders will face the full weight of the law.”
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