Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
A daredevil criminal who operated alone and had been terrorising residents of Benue State, especially within and around Gboko, the ancestral home of the Tiv people, was on Friday evening lynched to death allegedly by Gboko youths.
The notorious armed robber, who was popularly known as “One Man Squad”, had been a terror to the people of the area for months without anyone or security agencies able to bring him to book, it was reported.
State Governor Samuel Ortom had on Thursday issued marching orders to security agencies to arrest “One Man Squad” with immediate effect.
Our correspondent gathered that nemesis caught up with the notorious criminal barely 24 hours after the governor’s directive as he was trailed to a popular filing station in Gboko town where he had gone to rob in broad day light.
A source, who pleaded anonymity, disclosed that “One Man Squad” on Friday evening arrived Rano Fueling Station to rob without knowing that the youths had mobilized and were trailing him.
The youths were said to have summoned courage for the first time and pursued after him as he shot sporadically in all directions while trying to escape the scene after robbing some victims.
“The youths, however, caught up with him when he ran out of bullets. He was severely beaten by the mob to death. His corpse has been deposited at the General Hospital, Gboko,” our source disclosed.
Confirming the report, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Catherine Anene, who said the real name of the suspect was not yet known, said he had abandoned his rifle and ran into a crowd when he saw the police coming close to him and was thereafter lynched by the mob.
“It was reported that he was robbing, and when he heard the police approaching he took to his heels and was being chased. He abandoned his rifle and ran into a crowed where he was lynched before the police could rescue him. Name not known yet,” the police spokeswoman said.