Travelers Lit on Fire Over Kidnap Accusations in Edo State, Four Survive

The disturbing news of the killing of 16 travelers from Northern Nigeria is not the best news of the day. The young men were said to have been killed by an angry mob who accused them of kidnapping.

The information provided by witnesses was said to have occurred on Thursday around the Udune Efandion community of Uromi, Edo State. Edo State Security Corps and local vigilantes intercepted the victims, most of whom were Hausa hunters en route to Kano from Port Harcourt for the Sallah festivities.

The victims had Dane guns in their possession, a hunting gun commonly used in the North, and this was perceived as a threat by the mob, who decided they would take the law into their own hands.

Out of false claims and sheer ignorance, they did not contact the police or other security agencies. They raised a false alarm, and a violent mob gathered within seconds.

The frustration about kidnapping and the killing by herdsmen in Nigeria has grown to a level that every Fulani is a suspect. The call for mob justice was said to have received a quick reaction from passerbys and residents.

Security operatives were not quick to arrive at the scene. On their arrival, the mob seemed to disperse, however, the damage was irreparable. About 16 had been lit on fire by a party of local youths, instigated by the baseless accusations.

With some of the men still seated on the truck, the mob also set it ablaze and threw the rest of the men into a blaze with a wheelbarrow.

Witnesses said that four survivors who sustained wounds and bruises were rushed to His Grace Hospital in Uromi for urgent medical treatment.

Five suspects are in custody now and investigations have begun to determine the full extent of the events of Thursday.