Abuja, Nigeria – A mafia in southern Nigeria killed 16 people, at least some when the tires were forced on their heads and shoulders and set fire because they believed they were kidnappers, authorities said on Friday.
The victims of the north of the country were killed in the UROMI area of the State of Edo after being arrested by local security personnel. During a search in their vehicle, the officers discovered weapons made locally and that caused the Mafia attack, said Edo Police spokesman Moses Yamu, in a statement.
The videos shared on social networks showed that the victims were brutalized before they finally caught fire with worn vehicles.
The violence of the mafia in Nigeria has increased in the last decade. While attacks in the South are often linked to accusations of robbery and witchcraft, the north has seen an increase in mafia attacks on alleged blasphemy, according to an international amnesty report of 2024.
In 2022, SBM Intelligence, a lake -based research group, said there have been at least 391 Mafia murders in the most populous country in Africa since 2019.
Ten of the group of travelers were rescued from Thursday’s attack, which also left two people hospitalized with injuries, Yamu said.
The police spokesman said that 14 suspects were arrested in relation to the attack.
On a visit to the scene, Edo state governor on Monday Okpebholo said the perpetrators would face the entire anger of the law.
“No one has the right to take off the lives of another man,” said Solomon Osaghale, representative of the governor, in a statement.
The attack caused outrage in social networks, with politicians from the North condemning murders.
In 2012, four students from the University of Port Harcourt, the capital of the state of Rivers and one of Nigeria’s oil producing areas, were lynching after being mistakenly suspected of being armed thieves.
At that time, the attacks caused outrage throughout the country, lighting protests and debates about the country’s judicial system. Many believe that victims never received justice.
