Jungle justice was served an alleged thief who was burnt alive after he was allegedly caught stealing a television at Funmilayo junction in the Agege area of L agos State over the weekend.
The man identified as One Mopol, was said to have been caught stealing the item by a resident who raised an alarm an attracted an angry mob who descended on the man.
Sources who witnessed the incident said the man was a notorious robber that constituted nuisance in the area but was unlucky on the fateful day when he was caught trying to escape with the stolen TV around 5am at a house at Sura Odumakin Street.
The angry mob which quickly gathered, descended on him and beat him mercilessly before he was rescued by a police team from the nearby Elere Division.
The police arrived the scene and rescued the man but he was said to have infuriated the mob as he was being led away following an inciting statement to deal with the persons who took part in beating him.
The mob reportedly snatched him from the police, tied him with a rope and dragged him to the Funmilayo junction where they set him ablaze.
Narrating the incident, an eyewitness who identified himself as Diran Oderinde, said: “I was woken up around 6.30am by the commotion caused by his arrest. One Mopol was a known robber in this community and he robbed with confidence.
“He stole the plasma television at Sura Odumakin in the Papa area but was caught by a resident when he was about to escape.
“He robbed alone with a cutlass. Last Saturday night, he robbed a woman selling food on Abiba Street and raped her.
“When One Mopol was caught this morning (Saturday), the woman came to the scene and discovered that he was the one who actually attacked her.”
Corroborating the story, another resident, who identified himself only as Taofiq, added: “One Mopol derived his name from his mode of operation. He said he raped a woman last week after dispossessing her of N30, 000. He robbed alone with a cutlass.
“Last Saturday night, he robbed a woman selling food on Abiba Street and raped her. When One Mopol was caught this morning (Saturday), the woman came to the scene and discovered that he was the one who actually attacked her.”
A mechanic, Tolu Ibrahim, said One Mopol’s death was a relief to residents, adding that hardly a week went by that he would not rob someone in the community.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Dolapo Badmos, who confirmed the incident but condemned jungle justice.
He said: “The command will not tolerate jungle justice in any case, members of the public should endeavour to report such and normal procedure will be followed to get justice done.
“A robber who allegedly stole a plasma TV was burnt to death at Funmilayo area, Agege.
“Police got the information and moved to the scene but unfortunately the man had died. Investigation is on to unravel what actually transpired.
“His corpse has been deposited in a morgue for autopsy.”
