Barely 17 days after riots in Dei-Dei market in Abuja, a vigilante was, Saturday, burnt to death in Lugbe, a suburb of Abuja, over allegations of blasphemy.
Lugbe is about 10 minutes into the city centre and is on the way to the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport.
While there are conflicting reports on how the vigilante simply identified as Odaro got caught up in the blasphemy web, there is agreement of how he was killed.
Trouble started early afternoon when Odaro alongside other vigilante members tried to evict traders at the timber market in Lugbe.
Our correspondent learnt that it was during the eviction of a tea seller popularly called Mai Shayi that things took a sharp turn for Odaro.
“The Mai Shayi was pleading that they should be forgiven when the deceased was alleged to have said that even if the Prophet (Mohammed) was here, he (Odaro) will still not let them off that easily,” an eyewitness that refused to disclose his identity said.
This newspaper learnt that the Mai Shayi went to inform the mostly Muslim artisans that wait for daily hired jobs.
Unknown to him, as he was coming out of the vigilante office, some of those that will kill him and set his body ablaze were hanging around.
“One Aboki (term for Northerner that is Muslim) struck him with a plank with nails on it. Another struck him as he tried to run in with his gun, and a young boy smashed his head were he fell to the ground before the mob grew and he was set on fire,” another eyewitness said.
It took over 40 minutes for the police from the Lugbe Division to arrive the scene where they battled to calm the crowd and thereafter took the burnt corpse away.
Since the incident, Lugbe and other parts of Abuja have been on edge.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Josephine Adeh, said the quick intervention by men of men of the Nigerian police helped quell the situation and stopped it from escalating into a full riot.
Adeh in a statement explained that, “Today 4th of June 2022 at about 13:00hrs, one Ahmad Usman a 30years old member of the local vigilante around Tippa garage at Federal Housing Estate in Lugbe Area of the Federal Capital Territory got into an argument with a Cleric (Malam) whose name is yet unknown from the same area. The heated argument degenerated into an outbreak of violence that led to the murder and setting ablaze of Ahmad Usman by the enraged mob mobilized by the clergy numbering about Two hundred (200).
“Upon the receipt of this information, a quick intervention team comprising of the Surveillance and Ambush team of the command attached to the Lugbe Divisional Police Headquarters was drafted to the scene where the enflamed victim was rescued suffering severe degrees of burn and taken immediately to the hospital where he was confirmed dead by a Doctor on call.”
She said normalcy has since been restored to the situation, while monitoring and surveillance of the area continues.
The police therefore urged residents to go about their lawful duties without fear of any kind from any quarters as, “discrete investigation continues to unravel facts surrounding the ugly incident and to effect the arrest of the perpetrators.”
She added that, “The commissioner of Police CP Babaji Sunday, while warning against the indiscriminate act of self-help in obtaining justice known as jungle justice, stated that adequate sanctions will be meted on subscribers of this crude and dastardly act.