A yet-to-be-identified mentally-ill woman has been killed by hoodlums, who accused her of stealing a baby and being in possession of three AK-47 rifles in the Abule Ado area of Lagos State.
It was gathered that the hoodlums lynched the woman and set her body ablaze before fleeing the scene on Monday.
The incident, which attracted public attention, was investigated by the state police command, which confirmed that the woman was killed unjustly as no baby or AK-47 rifles were found in her possession.
As of the time of filing this report, an order had been given for the arrest of those responsible for her death.
Reacting to the development, the state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, while condemning the circumstances surrounding the death of the woman, said the police were hunting her killers as the state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, had ordered a probe of the incident.
He stated that the victim had been living in the area for years, adding that the hoodlums, who perpetrated the crime, had underlying motives best known to them.
Adejobi said, “The Lagos State Police Command has commenced investigation into the killing and setting ablaze of a mentally-challenged woman, who was alleged to have been in possession of a stolen baby and three AK-47 rifles at Abule Ado under the bridge, Festac area of Lagos State, on Monday, May 24, 2021.
“Based on preliminary investigation, it was discovered that the woman had been living in the area for several years before she was lynched by some hoodlums in the area on the suspicion of being in possession of a baby and three AK-47 rifles.
“The command wishes to state categorically that the woman was unjustly murdered for reasons best known to the perpetrators of the heinous crime as investigation revealed that no baby and AK-47 rifles were found in her possession, neither were they recovered by the perpetrators or the police. It’s just a clear case of murder.
“The state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has, therefore, ordered that the matter be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba, for proper investigation and the culprits must be arrested and charged with murder.”
Adejobi added that Odumosu warned against jungle justice, explaining that such an action was inhuman, criminal and detrimental to the administration of criminal justice in the state and Nigeria at large.
