Mob lynches man over teenage boy’s death in Nasarawa

A mob in Keffi, Nasarawa State, has killed a man suspected of involvement in the death of a teenage boy and set his body ablaze.

The victim of the mob action, identified as Isma’ila Zaria, was said to have previously worked as a guard at the Keffi Emirate Palace.

He was accused by residents of being linked to the killing of a teenage boy, Aliyu Muhammadu Lawal, whose body was later discovered in a pit in a neighbouring compound.

Sources said members of a local vigilante group had earlier arrested Zaria and taken him into custody.

However, an angry crowd reportedly overpowered the vigilantes, vandalised their office and lynched the suspect before security operatives arrived.

Police officers who rushed to the scene were also attacked by the mob, with some sustaining injuries.

The father of the deceased boy, Muhammadu Lawal, said he had previously had a dispute with the suspect over alleged noise disturbance at night.

He added that he could not confirm if the disagreement was connected to his son’s death but had left the matter to God.

“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 recounted finding his son’s body in a pit, with his eyes removed, his neck cut, and signs of strangulation.

A traditional title holder in Keffi, Yahaya Ladan Shafale, who holds the title of Kakakin Sarkin Keffi, confirmed that the Emirate had distanced itself from the suspect.

He said Zaria was no longer working with the palace, having been relieved of his duties earlier.

He condemned the killing of the teenager, describing the incident as shocking and unprecedented in the town.

“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 said.

The Nasarawa State Police Command confirmed the incident.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Ramhan Nansel, said police received a distress call around 12.30pm from a vigilante commander, Dogara Garba, reporting that a suspect had been arrested in connection with the killing of a boy.

He said before police arrived, the crowd had overpowered the vigilantes, vandalised their office and killed the suspect. The mob also attacked responding officers.

According to him, the police team led by the Divisional Police Officer later restored calm, evacuated the burnt body and deposited it at the General Hospital in Keffi.

He added that investigations were ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding both deaths.

“Yesterday, at about 12.30 hours, the police received a distress call from one Dogara Garba, who is the vigilante commander of Sabon Kasuwa area of Keffi, that an unknown suspect had been killed, who happened to be a boy, and that they arrested one suspect and brought to their office. But crowd has overwhelmed them, and they have vandalized the office. So, on receipt of the information, the police now mobilized, led by the DPO, and they raced to the scene.”

‎”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 was able to douse the tension and evacuated the suspect that was killed and burned to the hospital.”

Residents have called for justice and urged authorities to ensure those responsible for the mob action are brought to book.

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