Wilson Adekumola
An irate mob lynched a suspected armed robber who also engaged in raping his victims at Adagbada/Arola community, Apete, Ibadan, Oyo State on Wednesday.
Nigerian Tribune reported that the yet-to-be-identified suspect stormed s home in the community at about 4am and robbed two ladies of their phones and money.
It said that he locked one of the ladies up in a toilet and forced the other to lie down for him to rape as that had become his manner of operating.
The locked-up lady, meanwhile, escaped from the toilet and alerted neighbours.
It was learnt that the neighbours raised the alarm, which made the suspect to abandon his rape target and tried to flee.
The alarm raised created awareness and prompted people join others in apprehending the suspect as all his efforts to escape prove abortive.
He was said to have thrown the phones he forcefully took from his victims over the fence of a building, from where they eventually recovered by the police in Apete Division.
While pursuing him, the mob caught with him and pounced on him until he breathed his last.
It was learnt a crowd later gathered to watch his lifeless body, while many of them who were residents of the houses where the suspect had reportedly operated before was highly elated.
Some of the residents, who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune explained how they lived in fear because of the activities of the slain suspect.
They disclosed that many ladies had been raped by the suspect, who was always armed with cutlass, over the years, but he always escaped arrest.
Narrating his modus operandi, they said he would pretend to have gang members outside, barking at them to bring his gun if the victim he wanted to rape was unyielding.
The sources said he would lock up residents in an invaded house and take his victim outside the building to rape.
It was learnt that among those raped was a lady who with her fiance. The fiance was reportedly locked up while he sexually assaulted the lady.
Things came to a head last year when he was said to have raped a virgin, a situation which made many to cry in sympathy with the victim.
He was said to have carried out his act three weeks ago before he met his Waterloo on Wednesday.
Over the time, it was noticed by his victims that there were no gang members outside as he made them believe while operating.
This made the residents to be vigilant for his tricks.
The corpse was recovered by the police and taken to a mortuary to deposit.
Contacted, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adewale Osifeso, had yet to respond as at the time of filing the story.
