A suspected serial motorcycle thief and a member of a syndicate who specialises in stealing motorcycles has been burnt to death by an angry mob in Ondo town, headquarters of Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo state.
It was gathered that members of the gang had on Sunday morning invaded an area in the Sabo area and attempted to steal a motorcycle before one of them was apprehended while others escaped from the scene.
The arrested suspect was handed over to policemen in the Fagun police station but it was gathered that one of the members of the gang returned to the scene to know the whereabouts of the arrested suspect.
He was, however, identified as a member of the gang who visited the area in the early hour of the day as he had been arrested severally for motorcycle thefts and was subsequently beaten to a pulp before he was set ablaze.
He was said to have tried to run away from the scene but some youths chased him, apprehended him and set him ablaze.
An eyewitness, Meyo Adeola, explained that “the victim had been in the habit of stealing car batteries, generating sets and motorcycles in the area, while residents have been on the lookout for him.
“The last time he was apprehended by the residents and handed over to the police but he was said to have been warned but he never heeded to the warning until he was nabbed on Monday.
“He was here in the company of his other members in the early hours of Monday to steal a motorcycle and injured the motorcyclist, but the cry of the victim alerted the residents of the area and they mobilised and laid siege for him. He was apprehended on Monday morning, beaten and burnt to death.
The Police at Fagun Division confirmed the incident and said the residents informed the station that a suspected thief was set ablaze in the Sabo area.
The police source, who described the action of the residents as barbaric, advised people not to take laws into their hands but said four people have been arrested in connection with the killing of the suspect.
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