Aftermath of burning about 7 armed robbers: Onitsha residents heave sigh of relief

. as suspected ritualists behead burnt robbers, remove other vital body organs

By CHUKS EKE

Residents of Nkpor, Obosi and other neighbouring communities within the Onitsha urban suburb are now heaving a sigh of relief, following the return of crime free environment in the areas, arising from last weekend’s burning beyond recognition of about seven robbers who were alleged to have been terrorizing law abiding citizens in the area.

The robbers, according to eye-witnesses, had capitalized on the absence of policemen at Nkpor Junction and other strategic locations in the areas, owing to EndSARS and violent attacks on police personnel, robbed and shot their victims with impunity any time from 7 p.m. on daily basis.

/* custom css */
.tdi_58.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_58 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_58.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_58.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_58.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } }

Advertisement

The source stated that the situation degenerated into a situation where petty traders and shop owners within the Nkpor junction axis hurriedly close for the day as from 6.30 p.m., while residents and travelers who dared pass through the junction as from 7 p.m. usually fall victims of these robbers.

But the situation was last weekend, precisely on Friday brought under control when three members of the robbery gang were apprehended and set ablaze at Nkpor junction, while two others were burnt at Obosi road, near MINAJ junction, just as one other had his hand cut off at Oye Olisa market by the angry residents.

Not done with that, one other was burnt at Tarzan junction at Nkpor along Enugu/Onitsha expressway and other parts of the suburbs, thus bringing the total to seven or eight.

After they robbers who were set ablaze with petrol and motor tyres had burnt beyond recognition in the day time, their corpses laid side by side at Nkpor round about till night and by morning time, residents woke up to discover that their heads, livers and even hands had been removed in the mid night by unknown persons suspected to be ritualists.

Their headless corpses laid bare till Sunday morning when it was discovered that they had been removed from the scene.

Reacting to the development, some of the residents and traders around Nkpor junction lamented that these robbers had robbed, injured and even killed many law abiding citizens within the vicinity, adding that with their demise, the areas have returned to a crime free zone.

Reacting to a recent warning by the state police high command that residents should desist from further jungle justice, the residents alleged that most of these burnt robbers had been caught in the past and handed over to the police only for the police tocollect some reasonable amount of money from them, released them and they came back to the jungle more vicious.