Frustrated by the rampaging activities of armed robbers in their area, residents of Mayne Avenue in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State, turned judge and executioner as they arrested, beat and set ablaze five suspected robbers in the last two weeks.
Last Wednesday morning another suspected armed robber was overpowered by a vigilante group in the neighbourhood and set ablaze after being beaten.
According to Chief Abraham Effiong, an eye witness to the recent lynching of a robbery suspect not far from Holy Child Secondary School on Goldie Street near Mayne Avenue, armed robbers have been terrorising and making life difficult for them.
âWe were woken up by the screams of this victim. I could see how young boys from the neighbourhood surrounded him and he could not escape from them. They beat and poured fuel on him and burnt him. They said he went to rob one of the provision stores,â he said.
However, he revealed that the corpse of the victim was recovered by the Police who stormed the area after the suspect had been set ablaze.
When contacted, State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP John Umoh said he was yet to be briefed about the incident but condemned the summary execution of suspected armed robbers in the state, describing it as jungle justice; an act the police will not fold its arm and watch continue.
