Vigilante held over death of suspect at Madalla

A vigilante commander in Madalla town of Niger State was arrested on Saturday by the police for allegedly causing the death of a suspect through torture.

Some residents who spoke to our reporter over the incident on Wednesday said the deceased, one Yusuf Muhammad, was accused by his roommate of stealing a mobile phone.

Those who spoke with City News said the phone belonged to a visitor of the deceased’s roommate and that when the suspect was confronted on the issue, he denied the allegation, and was reported to the vigilante.

“They took him to the vigilante commander and during interrogation he died,” the source added.

Meanwhile, some angry residents, who are said to be close to the dead suspect, are alleged to have destroyed some business facilities owned by the vigilante commander. The two facilities are a wood processing factory and a furniture showroom in Madalla market area, which were set ablaze.

“They were in the process of destroying the office of the vigilantes when the owner of the house which the office is attached to pleaded with them and promised to terminate his tenancy agreement with the vigilante before the building was spared,” some witnesses said.

Meanwhile, the vigilante commander, one Ibrahim Kabiru, has been transferred to the Niger State Police Command.

Confirming the development, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Madalla, Abdulkarim Ibrahim, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said two more persons, the roommate of the deceased and the phone owner, were also taken to the command to assist in the investigation.