Five persons suspected to be kidnappers have been reportedly burnt to death at the weekend on the Afuze-Uokha road in Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State.
The five armed suspects were said to have attacked and abducted some travellers and took them into the forest.
According to a source from the area, luck, however, ran against them when they were apprehended by vigilantes in the area who smoked them out of the forest.
The source disclosed that the locals, on sighting the criminals, took them from the vigilance group and burnt them to death.
According to the source, “The kidnappers took the travellers into the bush not knowing that the vigilantes had got wind of the incident and mobilised to arrest them.
“The kidnappers would have been contacting the families of the abducted travellers to ask for ransom if not for the bravery of the vigilantes, while locals, who were fed up with the criminal activities of these kidnappers set them on fire.”
Spokesman of the state Police Command, Kontongs Bello, confirmed the incident, saying investigation into the matter was ongoing.
He said: “After the kidnap, the vigilantes went in search of the criminals and apprehended them in the bush.
“As they were coming out in Uokha community on their way to the police station, angry youths in Uokha and adjoining towns took the suspected kidnappers from the vigilantes.
“All efforts to get the suspects to the police station proved abortive as they were burnt to death. However, investigation into the matter is ongoing.”
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