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Horror gripped the streets of Gboko town this morning, Wednesday, December 3, 2025, as an angry mob intercepted two young men suspected of armed robbery and set them ablaze near the popular Government Secondary School Shopping Complex.
Eyewitnesses say the incident happened around 10:00 a.m. when the suspects, reportedly on a motorcycle, attempted to dispossess commuters and traders of their belongings along the busy road. Shouts of “thief!” quickly drew a crowd, and before police or any security operatives could intervene, the mob overpowered the two men, beat them severely, and doused them with petrol before setting them on fire.
The charred remains of the victims lay on the roadside for several minutes as thick smoke billowed into the air, with passers-by capturing the gruesome scene on their phones. Some residents expressed frustration over rising street robberies in the area, claiming the suspects had been terrorizing the community for weeks, but many others condemned the brutality, calling it a barbaric throwback that has no place in a civilized society.
As at the time of this report, neither the Benue State Police Command nor the state government has issued an official statement on the incident. Sources within the Gboko Division say officers arrived after the suspects had already been killed and are currently investigating.
The latest case of jungle justice comes barely weeks after similar incidents in other parts of the state and has reignited the debate over the collapse of trust in the formal justice system. While residents demand more proactive policing to curb crime, human rights advocates and community leaders continue to warn that taking the law into one’s own hands only breeds more violence and lawlessness.
Gboko, once again, is in the news for the wrong reason. Two lives have been brutally cut short, a community is traumatized, and the urgent question remains: when will the cycle of mob justice finally be broken in Benue State?
