Three young men were on Wednesday set ablaze by angry youths in Ezelu Okwe in the Onuimo Local Government Area of Imo State for allegedly abducting a newborn baby boy.
A source in the community said the suspected kidnappers met their Waterloo when they forcefully took the baby from the mother and were caught by youths who gave them a hot chase.
He said, “They kidnapped the baby boy and took to their heels immediately. The traumatised mother raised the alarm immediately, which caught the attention of some youths around. The youths quickly intervened, caught the three of them and burnt them alive.”
According to the source, the youths meted out jungle justice to the alleged kidnappers because a similar incident had taken place in the community penultimate week when kidnappers stole a baby from the mother.
“The youths were angered by the fact that a baby girl was stolen in the community two weeks ago. They wanted the killing of the kidnappers to serve as a deterrent to others,” he added.
The Police Public Relations Officer, in the state, Mr. Andrew Enwerem, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said he was awaiting full details from the LGA Divisional Police Officer as of the time of filling this report.