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In a shocking turn to the motorcycle theft saga that has gripped Makurdi for years, the Executive Chairman of Makurdi Local Government, Hon. Joseph Keffi, on Friday, November 21, 2025, openly acknowledged that two suspected bike thieves were beaten to death by members of the Motorcyclists Association after being tracked to a house on Tarzaan Iyortyer Street, along George Akume Way.
The incident began on the night of November 20 when a commercial rider whose motorcycle was equipped with a tracker discovered that his bike had been stolen. By morning, the GPS signal pointed directly to the now-notorious compound. The victim raised an alarm, mobilized fellow riders, and within hours a large crowd of angry okada operators stormed the premises.
According to the official statement released through Hon. Beetseh Terhide Mark, Special Adviser on Security and Politics to the chairman, two suspects were found hiding inside the house and nearby bush. In the heat of the moment, the enraged riders overpowered and killed them on the spot in what has widely been described as jungle justice.
During the ensuing search, police from E Division who later arrived at the scene reportedly recovered over fifteen motorcycles and a large quantity of spare parts from the building, confirming long-held suspicions that the house served as a major hub for receiving and dismantling stolen okadas in the state capital.
Hon. Keffi, who personally visited the area shortly after the incident, used the opportunity to call for calm and unity among residents while restating his administration’s full support for security agencies. He promised continued logistical and moral backing in the fight against crime, but stopped short of condemning the extrajudicial killings carried out by the riders.
The development has sparked heated debate across Makurdi. While many residents and riders quietly justify the mob action, citing years of helplessness as thieves repeatedly stripped them of their only means of livelihood, others have expressed concern over the growing trend of instant justice and its implications for the rule of law.
As of Sunday, November 23, no arrests have been reported in connection with the lynching of the two suspects, and the Benue State Police Command is yet to issue an official statement on either the killings or the recovered motorcycles.
For now, the streets of Makurdi remain tense, relieved, and on edge all at once, as riders celebrate the dismantling of a major theft den while the wider public grapples with the thin line between vengeance and justice in a city long plagued by okada snatchers.
