Residents adopt jungle justice, a new order to crush kidnappers in Warri

Penultimate Wednesday, last week, a new order was act out in Warri, the commercial nerve center of the oil rich Delta State. Two suspected kidnappers met their waterloo in the hand of irate mobs in the metropolis. One was burnt alive while the other was lynched after they were both caught in a failed kidnapped attempt. JOE OGBODU reports.

It has been termed as a barbaric act but the story to which the two suspects were killed has become a menace in the country. All class of people has fallen victims to this group of persons who has taken kidnapping as their trade.

In some state of the federation, a death penalty have been enacted for anyone caught with charges of kidnapping but in Delta State where the State House of Assembly was yet to pass the anti-kidnapping law, jungle justice is the new order.

Residents in the metropolis say death penalty would serve as a deterrent to others who might want to take into kidnapping as means of livelihood. A source recently said at the scene where a kidnapper was burnt to ashes in Warri; ‘this will serve as a big lesson to many kidnappers in Delta State and Nigeria at large.”

This was sequel to the worrisome increase in the cases of kidnapping in the metropolis. In recent time, several persons including the 9 year old daughter of Director General of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan Campaign Organisation in the January 6, 2011 re-run election, Prof. Godini Darah has fallen victims to these dare devil gangs.

Barely four days after the two kidnappers were allegedly killed; another group abducted a regional manager of a new generation bank in the metropolis. She was on her way to church service when her captor accosted her and took her to unknown destination.

Not too long, the Forum for Justice and Human Right Defence (FJHRD) raised the alarm over the spate of kidnapping especially the recent kidnap of one Uwalai, a Warri-based legal practitioner by unknown gunmen. The forum to this end had accused the police for not doing enough to checkmate the violent crime and lawlessness which had pervaded the state particularly the commercial city in recent time.

But irate youths who felt the police had failed to curb the growing case of kidnapping, took the law into their hands killing two of the kidnappers caught in a failed kidnapped attempt. The unidentified suspects were killed amid allegation that the police had failed to established single trace of the ring leaders of the kidnap syndicates.

Nonetheless, the Forum for Justice and Human Right Defence alleged that the rising cases of violent crime, kidnapping and other social vices were not well tackled ostensibly because some policemen who had over stayed in one Police Division allegedly ‘aided and abetted’ crime committed within their area of jurisdiction.

The forum in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Oghenejor Ikimi alleged that some policeman instead of fighting the crime to which they were assigned duties look side way because of the lucrative nature of the area and often work their transfer back to the base even when they had stayed in such Police Division for over ten years.

The forum said: “We note with further dismay a situation where many policemen presently serving in the Delta State Police Command have remained in a Police Division continuously for years without any transfer and even where transfers are made within the Command, these policemen work their transfers back to their old Police Divisions.”

Speaking further, the forum said: “Cases of the above anomaly abound in the so called lucrative Police Divisions of the “A” and “B” Divisions in Warri, Enerhen, Ovwian/Aladja, Ekpan, Abraka, Agbor, Aboh, “A” and “B” Divisions in Ughelli and Asaba respectively.”

“The above ugly development has no doubt adversely affected the Delta State Police Command in effectively combating the rising cases of crime in the State.”

The forum to this end, called on the Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim to commence mass transfer of police personnel attached to the Delta State Police Command.

Eyewitness at the scene where a kidnapper was torched alleged that some soldiers and policemen at the nearby junction who were later alerted could not pervert the mob action as the mob surge the deceased kidnapper.

A source even said that the policemen and solider at the junction allegedly ordered that the mob should torched the kidnapper who was seized in a failed attempt to kidnap a lady when motorcyclist popularly known as Okada rider swooped on them.

At the scene, one of the suspected kidnappers got the jungle justice treatment as mob hurriedly hang used tyres on his neck, pouring fuel on it, they set him ablaze even as he pleaded for mercies. Another was chased to Ogboru road by the bridge where he was given a beaten of his life. He died on the process.

But two other suspected accomplices escaped the wrath of the mobs as they fled the scene after twosome has been seized. They had operated on a motorbike brandishing weapons.

Sources said that the four suspects were sighted with a gun running from a spot were they had attempted to kidnapped the lady who had stopped by the road to dropped her kids off.

It was learnt that the Motorcyclist who saw the moves by the kidnappers chased the suspects down to Eboh Junction where one of them was burnt to ashes. The other who ran faster than the others was caught at Ogboru road and later beaten to death.

“The three young men were seen with guns running and when Okada men heard they were kidnappers, they went after them and just then the kidnapper’s vehicles hit an Okada ride, then they abandoned their car and started running. They were later caught.”

“Some unidentified soldier men and police officers present at the scene were said to have ordered that one of the suspects being burnt to aches but the other was killed along the Ogboru road by the bridge, our source added.

The incident cause traffic gridlock in that part of the city as residents including market women, passerby and Okada riders gathered to catch a glimpse of the suspects.

It was later gathered that policemen attached to the ‘B’ Division, Warri later took the corpse of the hoodlum killed at Ogboru and also carried the burnt remains of the other.

A motorcyclist at the scene and some onlooker however called on the state government to tackle the spate of kidnapping which have been in the increase in the state.

Some onlooker at the scene said that though the jungle justice kind of treatment melted on the suspect kidnappers was barbaric and uncalled for, they noted that it would served as a deterrent to others.

They however called on the state and federal government to be more proactive in the handling cases of rising violent crime and kidnapping in the country.

When contacted on phone, the state Police Public Relation Officer, Charles Muka, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) confirmed the incident but denied report that the police ordered the mob action.

He said that the suspected kidnappers had tried to kidnap a lady when they were caught by residents but before police could get to the scene two of the suspect have been killed. He said one was burnt to ashes by mob while the other was allegedly beat to death.

Muka said that two double barrel cut-to-size guns with six round of ammunition were recovered from the suspects.

Speaking later on the incident, Ikimi called on the Federal Government to stop playing politics with the welfare and security of its citizenry.

He also called on the Inspector General of Police, Mr Hafiz Ringim to immediately overhaul and reposition the Delta State Police Command by ordering the mass transfer of Policemen from the State Police Command.”

“And to injecting into the said Command new policemen from other State Police Commands in the Federation as we make bold to say that the above is the only antidote that would propel the Delta State Police Command into properly tackling violent crimes and checking the state of insecurity in the State.”

“We call on the Executive operators of the three tiers of Government i.e Federal, State and Local Government to stop playing politics with the welfare and security of the citizenry and we further call for a proactive approach by Governments at all levels in ensuring the welfare and security of its citizenry as provided for by Section 14 subsection 2 paragraph b of the 1999 constitution.” ##