Sixteen travellers from the Northern region of the country were burnt to death by an angry mob in the Udune Efandion community of Uromi, Edo State, after being accused of kidnapping.
The incident occured on Thursday, March 27.
The men were said to be traveling from Port Harcourt to Kano for Sallah when they were intercepted around 1:30 p.m. by local vigilantes.
They were said to have been found with machetes and local dane guns, causing the local vigilantes to accuse them of kidnapping.
This accusation elicited a mob attack.
Youths in the community reportedly set the truck they were travelling in ablaze, leaving some bodies trapped inside the vehicle.
Other travellers were taken out in a wheelbarrow and thrown into a fire in the middle of the road.
One of the victims is heard crying out in pain after he was thrown into the fire.
“O, he’s crying, ” a female voice is heard saying in sympathy.
“So e dey pain you?” a man says.
“Ehn, na so, make them die,” another male voice says as the victim’s cry continues.
A video shared online documented the dastardly jungle justice.
By the time security operatives arrived at the scene, it was too late to save the men.
The video has sparked mixed reactions, with viewers defending the men. They stated they must have been hunters, not kidnappers.
The incident also reignited a conversation about jungle justice.
