The Nigerian police were unable to stop an angry mob from stoning and
burning to death four students accused of armed robbery because they
were chased by rock-throwing assailants, authorities said on Monday. The lynchings in Aluu have caused outrage, with a video showing the
gruesome killings of the victims, aged 18-20, having circulated through
social media.
Police issued a statement on Monday laying out some of what they said
were the circumstances of the October 5 crime, while also saying 19
suspects had been arrested, including the traditional leader in the
community. “The police on getting to the scene met a mob attack on four victims
who were supposedly the suspected armed robbers,” the statement signed
by Nigeria’s national police chief Mohammed D. Abubakar said. “Attempts made by the police patrol team to take over the suspects
were met with stiff opposition from the mob, who chased the team with
stones.”
The four police officers at the scene then called for reinforcements,
but they arrived after the victims were “stoned and burnt to death,
while the mob immediately took to their heels,” the statement said. It was not clear why police did not shoot into the air or fire tear gas as is often done to disperse crowds in Nigeria. The police have arrested 19 suspects, including the traditional
monarch of the Aluu community in Rivers State, Hassan Welewa, who has
been accused of inciting the mob, it added. Initial reports said that the students were accused of stealing
phones and laptops, and the police said that they were suspected to be
armed robbers.
A gruesome video of the attack near the oil city of Port Harcourt was
posted on YouTube showing the students being stripped naked, beaten
with sticks, doused with petrol and set ablaze with tyres around their
necks. The University of Port Harcourt has since been temporarily closed following the tension generated by the killings.
culled from www.vanguardngr.com/2012/10/police-unable-to-stop-lynchings-of-aluu-4/
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