In a severe warning, the relatives and coworkers of 16 hunters who were lynched in Uromi, Edo State, have threatened to “take the law into their own hands” if the government does not apprehend and prosecute the murderers.
At Goodwill Junction, along Old Ilushi Road, vigilantes stopped and lynched the hunters, who were allegedly on their way from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to Kano State for the Sallah holiday, on suspicion of kidnapping.
Nationwide indignation and condemnation have been triggered by the horrific murder.
Most of the fatalities were from Toranke, which is in Kano State’s Bunkure Local Government Area. There, grieving has given way to rage and calls for justice. In an interview, the victims’ families, friends, and community leaders demanded prompt government action.
Alhaji Musa Dogo, a community leader and hunter, said, “We cannot allow this to go unanswered. If the government does not arrest and publicly prosecute those responsible, we will take matters into our own hands. We know how to track down those who commit evil.”
Another hunter, Bala Danburan, echoed the sentiment, vowing, “We know how to sneak into Uromi and take revenge ourselves if justice is not served. This is not a threat; it is a promise.”
In order to guarantee openness and justice, the hunters also demanded that the case be moved to a Kano court. They cited a case when the government of Kano State sent a defendant to Bayelsa State for trial.
Another Bunkure resident, Alhaji Usman Bako, bemoaned the death and blasted the government for allegedly ignoring local security groups like hunters, who have been instrumental in combating violence in rural areas. “If this continues, we may be forced to withdraw from joint operations,” he warned.
Malam Sani Umar, who lost his younger brother Yahaya in the attack, said the family had been left in pain and despair. “Yahaya left behind four children and a wife. He believed in justice, but now he’s been killed unjustly.”
Tearfully, Hafsat Ibrahim, mother of another victim, Nasiru, demanded justice and compensation. “He was the backbone of our family. The killers must be punished according to Islamic rites, and the government should compensate us,” she said.
Although governors of Kano and Edo states recently paid condolence visits to the grieving community, victims’ families insist that visits are not enough. “We need real action. We need arrests. We need to see prosecution,” said Sani Umar.
In response to the recent killings in Uromi, Edo State, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), Abuja, issued a strong warning against any group plotting retaliation, threatening to crack down on anybody escalating tensions.
Speaking in Abuja on Thursday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, had claimed that political leaders from Edo and Kano states had already “resolved” the crisis.
He had said the Edo State government had reached out to the affected families in Kano to douse tensions.
“At the political level, everything has been settled. Anybody or group trying to cause panic or issue threats will be investigated and dealt with accordingly,” Kangye declared.
The military general also pushed back against widespread concerns that security forces relaxed their operations against violent herdsmen, terrorists, and bandits across the country.
“The military is still very much in the fight. We have neutralised many of them and will continue our onslaught against them and their leaders,” Kangye insisted.
The military’s promises come as emotions remain high despite the efforts of political leaders and mounting fears of retaliatory attacks in the wake of the Edo killings.
Recall that two key suspects in the murder of sixteen Nigerians from the northern region last week were also taken into custody by Department of State Security (DSS) operations.
Fred Itua, Governor Monday Okpebholo’s chief press secretary, said in a statement that DSS agents in Uromi made the arrests in response to reliable intelligence.
“Operatives of the DSS have apprehended two principal suspects involved in the killing of 16 Nigerians in Uromi. The arrest was made following credible intelligence, and security forces are intensifying efforts to track down other individuals connected to the crime,” Itua stated.
Nonetheless, the detained individuals were sent to Abuja so that the appropriate authorities could question and prosecute them further. Itua clarified that talks between the governments of Edo and Kano State were still going on to decide on the best kind of compensation for the relatives of the victims.
