It was a painful sight as three kidnappers who stole a baby from the mother were caught and burnt alive in Imo State.
*Photo used for illustrative purpose*
Three young men were on Wednesday burnt alive by angry youths in Ezelu Okwe in Onuimo Local Government Area of Imo state for allegedly abducting a newly born baby boy.
A source in the community said the suspects met their waterloo when they forcefully took the baby from his mother and were caught by the youths who gave them a hot chase.
The source said, “They kidnapped the baby boy and took to their heels immediately. The traumatised mother raised alarm immediately, which caught the attention of the youths around.
“The youths quickly intervened, caught the three of them and burnt them alive without wasting any time.”
According to the source, the youths meted out instant justice on the alleged kidnappers because a similar incident had taken place in the community a fortnight before, when kidnappers had stolen a baby from the mother.
The source said, “The youths were angered by the fact that a baby girl was stolen by suspected human traffickers in the community two weeks ago. So, when they caught these ones, they wasted no time in setting them ablaze.
“This is to serve as a deterrent to others who may want to engage in such inhuman act in future in the community.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Andrew Enwerem, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said that though he had just received the information, the details of the incident were still sketchy, as he was awaiting full details from the LGA Divisional Police Officer as at the time of filing in this report.