A civilian, who has not yet been identified, was beaten to death and then set on fire by a mob in Ilisha-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State.
A soldier was also stabbed by the group of commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada riders, in the ensuing violence on Tuesday.
Daily Trust reports the motorcyclists pounced on the duo over alleged theft of bikes.
It was further gathered that the okada riders, especially those of the northern extraction, have lost a number of their motorcycles to bike thieves in the community.
Locals on Wednesday told our correspondent that the motorcyclists got hold of two suspects, clubbed one to death and stabbed the second person identified to be a soldier.
The second person wearing an army uniform reportedly escaped into a building after being brutally stabbed.
Witnesses said the angry Okada riders after setting ablaze the young man’s corpse also, in their large numbers, went after the soldier and insisted that he must be produced to face death.
A detachment of soldiers and police deployed to restore sanity later clashed with the mob, throwing the community into further chaos.
A resident said “Some of these persons have lost their motorcycles to these attackers in recent times but the right thing to do is to follow the law.
“It is wrong of them to be insisting on carrying out jungle justice. This was how they almost burned down the police station about three years ago because they insisted on killing two suspected bike thieves that were being held in custody at Ilisan police station.
“Today, they have killed one of the suspects and we gathered that the one wearing army uniform who escaped into one of the buildings might not make it too because he had been wounded with a knife. This can’t continue, it is wrong”.
The Chairman of Ilisan Development Association, Otunba Wemmy Osude, in a statement, said, “One of the suspects was caught by a mob and tragically set on fire. The other suspect, who was dressed in an army uniform, sought refuge in a nearby house.
“A large crowd of over 200 young northerners gathered outside the house, demanding the release of the suspect. Despite efforts to disperse the mob, they remained defiant. The situation intensified until the Army intervened with a commando-style rescue operation, successfully evacuating the suspect.”
The Spokesman of the Nigerian Army 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta, Captain Idereghi Akari, confirmed the incident on Wednesday, but he failed to give details of the occurrence.
“The soldier is not a thief. The deceased person is a civilian,” he said.
