Mob lynches gunrunner after bike crash exposes cache of AK-47s
A high-speed motorcycle crash near the Boyi-Sarki toll gate on Thursday night escalated into violence after a cache of assault rifles was reportedly found at the scene. The incident, which
A high-speed motorcycle crash near the Boyi-Sarki toll gate on Thursday night escalated into violence after a cache of assault rifles was reportedly found at the scene.
The incident, which occurred around 9:50 p.m. on February 17, left two suspects dead and prompted a warning from the Niger State Police Command against mob action.
According to police accounts, two unidentified men travelling on a motorcycle from the Tafa area of Kaduna State toward Abuja crashed into a road construction barrier near the Boyi-Sarki toll gate.
Police patrol teams conducting routine stop-and-search operations in the vicinity responded to the scene alongside residents who initially sought to assist the injured riders.
During a search of a sack said to belong to the suspects, officers allegedly recovered three AK-47 rifles, six magazines and 104 rounds of live ammunition.
One of the men reportedly died from injuries sustained in the crash. The second suspect was attacked and killed by a mob as officers attempted to evacuate him for medical treatment.
The police condemned the lynching and reiterated their warning against jungle justice, urging residents to allow security agencies to handle criminal matters through lawful procedures.
"The suspects ran into a road diversion barrier in what appears to be a lone accident," the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Wasiu Abiodun, stated. "But the discovery of the weaponry turned the crowd into an uncontrollable mob."
The Commissioner of Police, Niger State Command, CP Adamu Abdullahi Elleman, condemned the extrajudicial killing, noting that the lynching has effectively buried vital intelligence despite the recovery of the weapons being a victory for public safety.
"The suspect would have helped the Police to ascertain the source of the rifles and unravel their ultimate aim. Resorting to a self-help approach hinders the course of justice and prevents us from dismantling the larger network behind these weapons", the Commissioner of Police stated.
The corpses of both men have been deposited at the General Hospital morgue in Suleja, as the Commissioner of Police directed the Area Commander of Suleja to launch a thorough investigation to identify and arrest those responsible for the lynching.
Abiodun said that the recovered AK-47s have been sent for ballistic analysis to determine if they are linked to recent kidnappings or robberies in the Kaduna-Abuja corridor.
