A suspected mob action in Keffi, Nasarawa State, has left a man dead after he was accused of involvement in the killing of a teenage boy whose body was later found in a pit within a neighbouring compound.
The man, identified as Isma’ila Zaria, was reportedly lynched and his body set on fire by an angry crowd before security operatives could intervene.
Zaria was said to have previously worked as a guard at the Keffi Emirate Palace but, according to palace authorities, he was no longer in their service at the time of the incident.
Sources in the area disclosed that members of a local vigilante group had earlier apprehended Zaria in connection with the teenager’s death and taken him into custody.
However, the situation escalated when a crowd reportedly overpowered the vigilantes, vandalised their office and carried out the attack.
Police officers who responded to a distress call were also attacked by the mob, with some officers sustaining injuries and police vehicles damaged in the process.
The deceased teenager, identified as Aliyu Muhammadu Lawal, was discovered in a pit. His father, Muhammadu Lawal, said he had previously had a disagreement with the suspect over alleged noise disturbances but could not confirm whether the dispute was linked to his son’s death.
“I had been in conflict with this person because he was disturbing us with loud sounds at night. I cannot say if our past disagreement is connected to what happened to my son. I leave that to God,” he said.
He described the state in which his son’s body was found, alleging that the eyes had been removed, the neck cut and there were signs of strangulation.
A traditional title holder in Keffi, Yahaya Ladan Shafale, the Kakakin Sarkin Keffi, condemned the killing and clarified that the suspect was no longer attached to the palace.
“We condemn this incident, which we have never witnessed in our community. Keffi is a historic town and we pray such will not happen again,” he stated.
Confirming the development, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Nasarawa State Command, SP Ramhan Nansel, said the police received a distress call at about 12:30 p.m. from Dogara Garba, vigilante commander of Sabon Kasuwa area, reporting that a suspect had been arrested in connection with the killing of a boy.
According to Nansel, before police operatives arrived at the scene, the crowd had overrun the vigilante office, killed the suspect and set the body ablaze.
“Before they arrived, the suspect had been killed and set ablaze. And the mob attacked the police too, injuring some of the police officers and shattered some of the vehicles.
“The police were able to douse the tension and evacuated the suspect that was killed and burned to the hospital,” Nansel concluded.
He added that the Divisional Police Officer later restored calm to the area, evacuated the burnt body to the General Hospital, Keffi, and commenced investigations into both the teenager’s death and the mob action.
