
The State Commissioner of Police, Chris Owolabi, has warned youths and communities in the state to stop taking laws into their hands when dealing with criminal suspects.
This was made known in statement by the State Police Public Relations Officer, Ikenga Tochukwu, on Friday.
The statement, while thanking communities and youths of the state for assisting in crime control, decried the increase in cases of mob action in the state by some members of the public, who resort to jungle justice whenever they arrest suspects in respect of criminal allegations without recourse to the police for proper investigation.
The CP urged citizens to always exercise restraint by not taking laws into their hands, but instead endeavour to take suspects to the nearest police station whenever they are apprehended to afford the police the opportunity to conduct appropriate investigations and bring them to justice in accordance with the law.
Owolabi’s warning came in reaction to the burning to death of no fewer than five suspected criminals in some communities in Anambra by youths.
Four suspected criminals were reportedly burnt to death in Nkpo and Obosi communities in the Idemili North Local Government Area of the state on Thursday by youths of the area,
while one was killed in a similar circumstance in Oye Agu in the Oyi Local Government Area of the state.