Ben Dunno, Warri
A group, Warri Urban Security Network (WUSN), has expressed the need for an urgent implementation of laws banning and imposing stiffer sanctions on anyone arrested in connection to seeking Jungle-Justice’ through mob attacks on suspects, describing such barbaric act as gross violation of citizens right to fair hearing.
Speaking against the backdrop of Thursday’s attack on police team attached to Ugborikoko Police Division, Warri South Council area of Delta state, by angry mob who misconstrued their intentions to rescue the occupants of a vehicle involved in an accident along popular Complex Road, Ekpan, as an attempted extortion, the group called for an end of mob lynching across the country.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Chief Frank Onoriode, the body noted that a lot of innocent people had been lynched, disabled or burnt to death through mob attacks in the name of ‘Jungle Justice’, adding that the attack on the policemen who were on official duty, would have been another case of death based on false alarm.
WUSN thanked God for the lives of the police team, led by Woman Inspector Fatima Okala, who were beaten and almost burnt to death by mob but rescued due to the timely mobilization of Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Ugborikoko, CSP Muktari Bello, who called for back-up from nearby police stations to disperse the crowd.
The body also commiserated with the family of the deceased passenger of the Commercial tricycle, otherwise known as Keke, who fell out as a result of the impact from the vehicle whose driver had lost control due to brake failure and was ran over by the same vehicle leading to her death on the spot and other passengers that sustained injuries in the accident.
While calling for a probe on who masterminded the false alarm on the policemen which attracted the crowd to the scene and the consequent mob attack that almost led to their being killed, WUSN urged Delta state Commissioner of Police, CP Wale Abass, to prosecute anyone found wanting in raising the false alarm and masterminding the arson attack on the policemen.
According to him; “The investigation we have conducted into the incident revealed that the policemen who were carrying out their lawful duty in the area when the incident occurred and had only rushed to the scene to assist the passengers before being accused wrongly and later attacked”.
“We have it in good authority that the driver of the accidented vehicle, a grey coloured Lexus Jeep with registration number; RX 330X, belonging to one Pullah Ebipade Ekpotuayerin, was driven by one Cletus Bekekeme, (35) who was sent on an errand by his aunt, the vehicle owner”.
“It was on on approaching the Link Road end of Airport road, that I observed a break failure some distance away from where the policeman were standing. I did all I could to slow the vehicle down at a point but on getting to the Complex Road the issue got out of hand again, this time, I was behind the Keke and in the process hit the tricycles from behind “.
“In the process of trying to avoid further fatal accident on the Keke, I decided to swerve my hand but this time climbing over one of the passengers who had fallen out of the Keke before I was able to look for a safe place to crash the vehicle and that was how we came to a stop”.
“All these happened close to the place the policemen team were standing. It was after we had stopped that the rushed to where we were to assist us. We had gone to report ourselves at the Ekpan police station when we learnt of the attack on the policemen”, it concluded.