Police arrest two over lynching of phone thief in Anambra, issue warning to residents

The Commissioner of Police in Anambra, CP Aderemi Adeoye, has issued a stern warning to residents, urging them not to take the law into their own hands in response to criminal activities.

Adeoye emphasized that the police would no longer tolerate instances of jungle justice, where suspects are lynched without due legal process.

DSP Toochukwu Ikenga, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), quoted the CP in a statement on Friday, stating that individuals involved in such acts would be charged with murder.

The CP condemned mob lynching as barbaric, emphasizing that it is even worse than the crimes committed by the suspects themselves.

The PPRO revealed that two individuals have been apprehended for their involvement in a recent incident of mob lynching, leading to the death of suspected criminals.

“Someone steals a phone, and a mob kills him. The sentence for stealing a phone is three years imprisonment.

“Those who lynch commit murder, which carries the death penalty because the Courts have not delegated anyone outside the judiciary to try, convict and execute suspects,” he said.