A mob in Onitsha, Anambra State, set two suspected thugs on fire close to Sokoto Road and the Main Market.
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, lynching 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.”
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
