The police in Edo State have arrested 14 suspects in connection with the killing of travelers on Thursday.
The victims, believed to be hunters, were brutally murdered by a mob in the Uromi area on suspicion of being criminals.
The Edo State Police Command stated that there were 16 victims, and its spokesperson, Moses Yamu, confirmed that several individuals had been apprehended in relation to the attack.
“In the course of investigations, fourteen (14) suspects have been arrested in connection with the crime, while an emergency meeting was convened with stakeholders and members of the community to address the situation,” Yamu said in a statement on Friday.
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The Edo State Police Command explained that the incident occurred when a truck, with registration number KKF 225 XA, traveling from Port Harcourt and carrying 25 passengers from Elele, a Rivers State suburb, was intercepted by a vigilante group in Uromi.
Some of the travelers were found with locally made Dane guns and were subsequently arrested.
“While this was ongoing, some vigilante members raised an alarm of them being suspected kidnappers, which led some members and passersby in the community to attack and lynch sixteen (16) of the occupants while the truck conveying them was equally burnt.
“Police operatives attached to the Uromi Division got wind of the incident and swiftly stormed the scene where ten (10) of the travelers were rescued, two of whom sustained various degrees of injuries and were rushed to a hospital where they are currently positively responding to treatment.”
Yamu stated that a unit of the Police Mobile Force, along with other tactical teams from the command, had been deployed to the area to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
The police said “investigations continue” over the incident and cautioned “against any form of reprisal attacks”.
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