The Police in Edo State have arrested 14 suspects in connection with the mob killing of at least 16 travellers in the state.
The victims, said to be hunters travelling from Rivers State to Kano State for Sallah, were allegedly attacked by vigilante members and armed youths who stopped their truck, dragged them out one by one, beat them, and then set them ablaze after being labeled as kidnappers.
The Cable Newspaper reported that the incident occurred on Thursday on the section of the Uromi/Obajana Expressway in the Esan North-East local Government Area of Edo State.
Reacting, in a statement on Friday, the police spokesperson in Edo State, Moses Yamu, stated that the arrested suspects found some locally made guns with the travellers, sparking suspicion that they were kidnappers.
He said the vigilante members raised the alarm, “claiming the travellers were suspected kidnappers.”
“In the course of investigations, 14 suspects have been arrested in connection with the crime. An emergency meeting was also convened with stakeholders and community members,” he explained.
Yamu added that a unit of mobile police force and other tactical teams have been deployed to the area to stop any further disruption of law and order.
