By Rotimi Ojomoyela
Ado-Ekiti
An irate mob was reported to have set ablaze a suspected kidnapper and ritualist in Ikere Ekiti, Ikere local government area of Ekiti state.
The state police command disclosed this yesterday in Ado-Ekiti through its Public Relations officer, Mr Victor Babayemi, saying the act was regrettable and inhuman.
The suspect was said to have been caught by residents while allegedly trying to kidnap a three-year- old girl at Ori Audu Area of Ikere Ekiti, after which he was beaten by the mob and subsequently set ablaze.
Babayemi said: “The action is condemnable and regrettable. There is no jungle justice in the Nigerian Laws. It is a barbaric action for people to kill and set ablaze a suspect without resorting to the security agencies. This would not be tolerated.”
He said the Command had commenced investigation into the matter in an attempt to unravel the identities of the suspect and those that perpetrated the act.
In separate development, a middle aged woman, Mrs Lola Adebayo, has been arrested by the Police for allegedly inflicting bodily injuries on her nine-year-old house-help, Blessing Akinyemi.
A commissioner with the Ekiti state Local Government Service Commission, Mrs Omotunde Adelabu, told journalists that she saw the tattered-looking girl wandering about the streets and that upon interrogation she found out that she was allegedly brutalised by Mrs Adebayo over an offence she committed.
The Director of Citizens’ Rights, Ekiti state Ministry of Justice, Barr Gboyega Morakinyo, who described Mrs Adebayo’s action as “barbaric and lawless,” said the culprit would be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.
Babayemi, who confirmed the incident, said the case had been reported at the Command’s headquarters, and that the full details would be made public soon.