Angry mob set the corpse of a yet-to-be-identified Fulani man ablaze in a reprisal attack, following a violent altercation between the deceased and an Islamic scholar identified as Mohammed Ilyasu in Ilesha Baruba, Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, Saturday.
Police investigations revealed that a violent altercation occurred between an unidentified Fulani man and an Islamic scholar, Alh Mohammed Ilyasu, during which both parties sustained severe machete injuries.
The spokesman of the Nigeria police Command in Kwara State, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi confirmed the incident on Sunday in a statement, which assured that suspects behind the henius crime will be made to account.
The injured victims were immediately rushed to the Hospital for medical attention. “Sadly, Mohammed Ilyasu was confirmed dead on arrival, while the assailant also succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment”, the police spokesman said.
He said, “Rather than allowing the law to take its course, some irate youths reportedly stormed the hospital, seized the corpse of the deceased assailant, and set it ablaze”.
“In a further display of lawlessness, the mob allegedly attacked another man passing through the area and set him on fire”, Ejire-Adeyemi explained that the violent crowd also razed about ten buildings belonging to members of the Fulani Community, including the residence of the Ardo Fulani, Alhaji Hassan”.
“Upon receipt of the report, a combined team of Police personnel and military operatives was swiftly deployed to the affected area, successfully restoring normalcy and preventing further escalation of violence.
Consequently, security has since been reinforced, while the situation remains under close monitoring as directed by the Commissioner of Police in the State Command, CP Ojo Adekimi.
The Commissioner condemned the acts in the strongest terms, describing them as criminal, barbaric, and a direct affront to the rule of law.
He emphasized that no individual or group has the right to take the law into their own hands irrespective of the circumstances surrounding any incident.
Accordingly, the police Command has launched a full-scale investigation and manhunt for all persons involved in the retaliatory attacks, arson, and unlawful killings.
The perpetrators will be identified, apprehended, and made to face the full weight of the law.
The Commissioner of Police emphasized that the perpetrators will be identified, apprehended, and made to face the full weight of the law, while urging residents to remain calm, peaceful, and law-abiding while refraining from actions capable of disrupting public peace or inciting ethnic reprisals.
Hmm this is worrying