ANGRY YOUTHS LYNCH, BURN SUSPECTED OKADA SNATCHER IN MAKURDI
12th January, 2026
A suspected motorcycle robber was on Sunday lynched and set ablaze by an angry mob near the Prime Power petrol station in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
Sources told Benue Info-pedia that the suspect allegedly dispossessed an okada rider of his motorcycle along Ahmadu Commisi Road in the Demekpe area of the metropolis.
It was gathered that the victim raised an alarm shortly after the incident, mobilising youths in the neighbourhood who gave the suspect a hot chase. He was eventually intercepted close to the Prime Power filling station.
A resident, identified simply as Tony, said the suspect attempted to flee immediately after snatching the motorcycle, but was pursued by eyewitnesses.
“After taking the bike, he sped off. The youths who saw what happened chased him. He was caught while trying to cross the road, but vehicles coming from Ankpa Quarter Junction blocked his escape,” Tony narrated.
He added that before a police patrol team from ‘D’ Division could arrive, the mob reportedly fetched tyres from a nearby vulcaniser’s workshop and set the suspect ablaze.
The motorcycle owner, Mr. Onoja Okendu, thanked God for sparing his life, recounting that he purchased the motorcycle through a hire-purchase arrangement in October 2025 for N2 million.
According to him, the incident occurred while he was riding from Wadata through the NKST sharp bend towards the Modern Market.
“After passing the church, I saw a young man. Because it was Sunday, I thought he was coming out of church.
He stopped me and boarded the bike without saying anything,” Okendu said.
He explained that the suspect later asked him to stop near Demekpe Primary School, claiming he had forgotten something.
“As I stopped, he brought out a gun and ordered me to run. I ran and shouted ‘Thief! Thief!’ The people around the petrol station blocked him as he waited for vehicles to pass before entering the main road. Other okada riders were also chasing him,” he added.
Okendu appealed to the government and security agencies to intensify patrols and surveillance, lamenting that motorcycle thefts at gunpoint still occur in broad daylight despite restrictions on night operations.
Efforts to get a reaction from the Benue State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Udeme Edet, proved unsuccessful, as calls and text messages sent to her were not returned as at the time of filing this report.
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