Two suspected thugs have been set ablaze by a mob near Sokoto Road, Main Market in Onitsha, Anambra State.

It was gathered that the incident happened around 3.30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Eyewitnesses in the area said the mob first lynched the suspects before setting them on fire.

“The tricycle operator had dropped a passenger and his goods in the market, and as he was about to move, those boys approached him and attempted to dispossess him of his money before the mob descended on them, lynched them before setting them ablaze,” the source said.

Efforts to speak with some market leaders proved abortive as all of them declined to comment on the development.

When contacted, the state police spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident.

Ikenga added that the state Commissioner of Police, Aderemi Adeoye, has condemned the act and reiterated his call for members of the public to always take offenders to the nearest police station for necessary actions.

He said, “The Commissioner of Police, CP Aderemi Adeoye, has condemned the act and reiterated his call for members of the public to always take offenders to the nearest police station for necessary policing actions, particularly the conduct of appropriate investigations.

“The CP has, therefore, ordered a thorough investigation of the incident.

“Meanwhile, preliminary information revealed that the two male suspects, who were later simply identified as Omaume and Monday, are members of a notorious armed robbery gang led by one Itanda (male), already in the Correctional Service Custodial Centre.

“The gang is alleged to be responsible for several attacks and the dispossession of traders and unsuspecting victims of their personal belongings at the Main Market, Onitsha,” he added. (The PUNCH)