Olayiwola Matthew
Residents of Agenebode, the headquarters of Etsako East Local Government Area, Edo State, on Sunday, burnt down a police station after the kidnap and killing of a young boy in the locality.
A reliable source who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised, said several persons were reported killed and vehicles inside the police station set ablaze over an allegation that suspected Fulani herdsmen were kidnapping and killing people for organ harvesting; and were allegedly being protected by the police.
The resident said, “The incident that led to the issue was the case of a young boy who was said to have been kidnapped some weeks ago and after a ransom was paid, he was still not released. It was later discovered that he was killed.
“The youths in the community were able to track the phone and the user was arrested and handed over to the police. The user was traced to the head of the Fulani community in the area.
The source continued, “Apparently not satisfied with the way the police were handling the matter, the youths stormed the police station and took away the suspect, led him to the house of the Fulani leader where on prodding, he allegedly confessed to them that several kidnapped victims had been killed and buried in shallow graves after parts of their bodies were harvested.
“The infuriated youths dug up the decomposing body of the young man in the compound of the leader of the Fulani who had fled with his family and in the process of digging up the decomposing body, saw several bones believed to be those of human beings.“In anger, the youths burnt down the building and then the business centres of several other Hausa/Fulani youths and then stormed the police station and set it ablaze.”
One of the youths said, “Enough is enough. This must stop. The police kill our children and still collect money from us. These kidnappers will abduct our children, collect money and still kill them. They will collect N2.5m, sometimes, N3m from us and still kill the victims.”
When contacted, the chairman of the council, Benedicta Atoh, said he “was too shocked to talk”, as claimed by one of his aides.
The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone 5, Arungwa Udo and the Commissioner of Police, Nemi Edwin-Iwo, have visited the place apparently to restore order and have an on-the-spot assessment.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Moses Yamu, replied through a text message that he “Will get back to you ASAP.” (As soon as possible)