Vigilante shoots neighbour while aiming at thief in Kwara

A local vigilante simply identified as Alada of Abimbola street, Oloje community in Ilọrin West LGA of Kwara State, has shot his neighbour, Yusuf, while aiming at a thief. The incident, it was gathered, happened in the wee hours of Saturday when the suspected thief broke into the house of a tenant in the area. […]

A local vigilante simply identified as Alada of Abimbola street, Oloje community in Ilọrin West LGA of Kwara State, has shot his neighbour, Yusuf, while aiming at a thief.

The incident, it was gathered, happened in the wee hours of Saturday when the suspected thief broke into the house of a tenant in the area.

City & Crime learnt that when the tenant, who had gone out to buy something returned, he met his door locked from the inside.

“He raised the alarm and the residents rushed to the room in the storey building. About 40 people were upstairs while over 50 were waiting downstairs.

“When the door was forced open, the suspect had climbed the ceiling and Yusuf followed him. But suddenly we heard a gunshot and Yusuf fell, shouting in pain with his left leg shattered,” a witness told our correspondent.

When City & Crime visited Khalifa Hospital, Oloje where the victim was rushed to, he said “It was Alada, the vigilante that shot at him.

“The thief was running around the ceiling and I was pursuing him, we destroyed the ceilings of several rooms until he jumped down into the toilet. I was looking at him from the ceiling and told others to get hold of him.

“But Alada suddenly shot at me and I fell down. I was shouting why he shot at me and he said he thought it was the leg of the thief he saw. But I thank God that it was my leg because if it was any other part of my body, it would have been fatal,” he said.

During a visit to the area on Monday, Alada and his wife had fled the house and went incommunicado.

The vice chairman of the community, Ibrahim Yusuf, said the suspect was apprehended and beaten to a coma.

“We had to quickly rescue him to save his life. The community will be in trouble if we carry out any jungle justice. He is recuperating at the UITH and the police from ‘G’ Division, Oloje, said he must get well first before they can commence any investigation on the matter,” Ibrahim said.