3 motorcycle thieves escape lynching in Kaduna

Three motorcycle thieves escaped lynching by a mob over theft of two motorcycles in Kaduna. Army personnel who were passing the scene on their motorcycle quickly intervened and salvaged the situation. The thieves who later identified themselves as Umaru, Sani and Kenneth were said to have stolen the motorcycles around the Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital, […]

Three motorcycle thieves escaped lynching by a mob over theft of two motorcycles in Kaduna.

Army personnel who were passing the scene on their motorcycle quickly intervened and salvaged the situation.

The thieves who later identified themselves as Umaru, Sani and Kenneth were said to have stolen the motorcycles around the Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital, Kaduna but ran out of luck when one of the owners of the bikes who was outside at the time waiting for a friend raised alarm which attracted passers-by who gave the thieves a hot chase.

The thieves manoeuvred their way to Independence Way, and later connected to Muhammadu Buhari Way, heading towards the popular Ahmadu Bello Way, however the mob chasing them increased and one of the thieves was knocked down by a vehicle while the other two on bike ran into head of cows on the road.

The mob quickly descended on them and started giving them the beatings of their lives; going as far as bringing tyres and petrol with intention of setting them ablaze.

At this point, the two army personnel in the ranks of Sergeant arrived the scene and forcefully grab the thieves from the mob and took them to the front of Command Guest House where soldiers on guard also joined to disperse the angry mob. However, despite this the angry mob remained undeterred as they hit the thieves with without ever came handy.

The scenario took a dramatic turn when one of the thieves grabs the legs of one of the soldiers, crying and begging him to call the police to come and arrest them.  The situation was saved as personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), who was among the crowd that chased the thieves’ right from the hospital, called in their patrol van that later arrived and the speed the culprits jumped into the van was unbelievable.

This did not go down well with the crowd who believed that the action of the thieves showed that there is a succor at the hands of the security agents than the mob.  So the mob started shouting, “We arrested them, let’s do justice to them”.

The action caused pandemonium along the Muhammadu Buhari Way as shop owners started closing their shops, and passers-by took to their heels for fear of the unknown.  As at the time of filing in this report, two patrol vans from the Kaduna State security outfit, Operation Yaki are seen on the road to maintain law and order.

The three thieves are now at the State Headquarters of the NSCDC. 

Confirming the story, the Public Relations Officer of NSCDC Kaduna State Command, Orndiir Terzungwe said the suspects are in their custody and are being investigated to determine the next action, while the two motorcycles have been recovered.