The Kogi State police command on Tuesday confirmed the arrest of nine members of the state Vigilante Service for allegedly torturing a man to death in Ofabo Egabenebe community in Ofu local government area of the state.
The Command spokesman, DSP William Aya, who confirmed the arrests, told journalists the victim was tortured to death on Monday.
Those arrested, according to Aya, included the head of the vigilante service and his second-in-command.
He said the victim met his untimely death when a businessman in the community, who accused him of stealing items worth N200, 000 from his shop, reported him to the members of the vigilante service in the community.
The head of the vigilante service, his deputy and six other members of the group were said to have taken on the victim immediately.
The police spokesman said: “The victim was brutally tortured with a hammer and other items by the vigilante men, who later hit him on the head in an attempt to obtain information from him.
“In the process, the victim was said to have slumped and died on the spot.
“Youths of the community, who got wind of the sad event, immediately embarked on protests, during which the three shops belonging to the man who accused the victim of stealing his N200,000 were set ablaze.”
Aya said investigations into the incident had commenced, adding that normalcy had since been restored to the community. (NAN)
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