A man identified as Laminde Boka was lynched by an angry mob after stabbing three worshippers to death in the early hours of Monday morning at a mosque in Kado Bimko, 1st Avenue neighbourhood of Gwarinpa District, Abuja.

A witness, Muhammad Auwal, told reporters during a visit to the community that Laminde was later overpowered by sympathisers and lynched.

Auwal, who operates a kiosk near the mosque, said the first victim was an elderly man popularly known as Alhaji Wanzam, a local barber who often arrived at the mosque as early as 4 a.m. to help clean the premises before attending to customers.

According to him, “Alhaji Wanzam was cleaning the mosque when the suspect approached him and suddenly stabbed him with a knife.”

He said the suspect, believed to be under the influence of drugs, went on to attack others who attempted to intervene.

“The second victim, who operated a grinding machine in a nearby market, was stabbed while trying to confront the suspect and later died on the way to the hospital,” Auwal added.

He further explained that the suspect chased other worshippers and caught up with a third man who fell while fleeing. “He stabbed him to death on the spot,” he said.

Following the attacks, sympathisers resorted to using stones and sticks against the suspect, inflicting fatal injuries that led to his death.

Auwal disclosed that the remains of Alhaji Wanzam were taken to his hometown in Gezawa, Kano State, while the second victim was buried in his home state of Katsina. The third victim, who hailed from Gombe State, was taken to Kubwa General Hospital in Abuja, as no relatives had been located at the time.

The Village Head of Kado Bimko, Mallam Ibrahim Isiaku, said the incident triggered panic, forcing people who usually slept around the mosque, as well as early morning worshippers, to flee the area. He added that the mosque was subsequently closed.

Isiaku said after a meeting involving mosque officials, leaders of a nearby market and the manager of an adjoining filling station, it was resolved that no one would henceforth be allowed to sleep within the mosque premises.

Efforts to reach the Divisional Police Officer of Gwarinpa were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report. However, a senior police officer at the station confirmed that the incident occurred. (LEADERSHIP)