BY MIKE OSAROGIAGBON
Benin City, Nigeria – Edo State Commissioner of Police (CP) Abutu Yaro has appealed to the general public to be calm as police have begun investigation into a mob action in which a criminal suspect was allegedly burnt alive in Auchi town last weekend.
Auchi is the administrative headquarters of Etsako West Local Government Area of the state.
The commissioner warned against extrajudicial killings of criminal suspect, describing the action in Auchi as barbaric, adding that all apprehended criminal suspects must be handed over to the police.
“The Commissioner of Police appealed to the general public to be calm, as the Police Command is already mopping up those responsible for this gruesome act for possible prosecution,” the command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Kontongs Bello disclosed this in a statement in Benin City.
“The Edo State Commissioner of police, CP Abutu Yaro, fdc has ordered a thorough investigation into the barbaric and dehumanizing act of jungle justice meted on an alleged suspect by some purported irate youths masquerading as vigilantes in Auchi.
“The Commissioner of Police while reacting to the ugly incident, frowned at the action of the vigilantees, who instead of taking the suspect to the Police for proper investigation and prosecution, aided the irate mob to burn the suspect allegedly arrested for stealing to death without any recourse to the law”. The statement revealed.
The release further added that CP Abutu Yaro described the act as barbaric and inimical to law as he warned Edo State indigenes that the Command under his watch would not allow disgruntled elements treat suspects arrested for alleged crimes in such a dehumanizing and unlawful manner.
“It is wrong for anyone to assume the position of a law enforcement agency.
“Suspects apprehended in connection with any crime should be immediately handed over to the Police or any law enforcement agency constitutionally saddled with the responsibility of investigating and prosecuting such suspects”. It warned.
