False kidnapping accusationsFalse kidnapping accusations
The Northern Governors Forum, Amnesty International among others have also condemned the killing of the men.
local vigilantes had stopped the vehicle the victims were travelling in and in the course of search, found Dane guns used by the hunters, a development that reportedly led to the gathering of a mob who concluded the travellers were kidnappers and burn them alive.
In a viral video seen by our reporter, the deceased were seen rounded up by some youths who eventually set them ablaze.
The attackers tied the victims to used tyres, poured petrol on them, and set them on fire.
The Edo State Police Command said 14 suspects had been arrested in connection with the incident.
A statement by the command’s spokesperson, CSP, Moses Yamu, said, ‘‘on March, 27, 2025, a truck with registration number KKF 225 XA, coming from Port Harcourt, conveying 25 travellers from Elele, a suburb of Rivers State, was accosted by some vigilante group members at Uromi.
“Some of the travellers who were found in possession of locally made Dane guns were arrested.
“While this was ongoing, some vigilante members raised an alarm of them being suspected kidnappers, which led some members and passersby in the community to attack and lynch 16 of the occupants while the truck conveying them was equally burnt”.
He said the police went to the scene where 10 of the travellers were rescued, while two of those who sustained various degrees of injuries were rushed to a hospital and that they are responding treatment.
He added that Police Mobile Force personnel with other command tactical teams had been deployed to the area to forestall breakdown of law and order.
“The Commissioner of Police reiterates the need for peaceful coexistence among various groups, and urges residents to remain calm and cooperate with the police as investigations continue,” he said.
He also cautioned against any form of reprisal attacks or unlawful gatherings that may further escalate tensions.
