Barber allegedly killed by mob over N10

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The victim identified as Ikechukwu Anigbo, was the unfortunate victim of a mob attack which had him beaten and burnt to death around a popular relaxation centre in Apo, Abuja.

Daily Trust reports that the young man in his early 30's who hailed from Aku, Enugu State had reportedly been involved in a quarrel with the owner of a motorcycle over N10 change.

In a bid to gain help from his fellow counterparts, the motorcycle owner had yelled "thief", attracting the blood thirsty mob.

The mob had wasted no time getting tires from a vulcanising shop close by, and after beating Anigbo up, he had been set on fire and burnt to death.

A friend of the victim, Chukwudi Orji, had reportedly told Daily Trust that he had only known about the incident upon his arrival at home at about 11pm that fateful day.

While speaking with Daily Trust, Orji said:

“I saw the fire, but I did not know that someone was inside. There was smoke everywhere; there was no way you would have known that there was someone in the fire, except you were there or somebody told you about it.”

Orji added that it was not the first time that a group of motorcyclists have caused the death of a person over paltry sums of money.

“When news of the incident spread, people became angry. They wondered why the motorcyclists would burn an innocent man. Even the man who volunteered to carry the corpse after he had been killed, was chased away.

“A similar thing happened in Kabusa, when a boy was stabbed because of change. Another man was killed on Wumba road. The same change issue led to the death of a man in Damagaza. In his case, after he was killed, they kept him near a river until the next day.

"Because the motorcyclists knew what they did, they boycotted this route from Sunday evening until policemen were deployed to the area.”

The task force Chairman of Abuja Spare Parts Dealers Association, Apo, Ezema Virginus Chukwudike, had reportedly confirmed the incident.

Anigbo's boss and the owner of the barbershop where he had worked, Azeez Akinola, corroborated Orji's story, adding that the attitude of motorcyclists in the area had become a cause for concern.

Akinola also revealed that he had worked with Anigbo for over four years in the small barbershop in Apo, explaining that he had not understood the magnitude of the incident until he had arrived at the scene, seeing the corpse of Anigbo in the fire.

“I could not believe it. There were heaps of iron treads from the burnt tyres on his body.

“He was very gentle’’. Speaking in Pidgin, he added, “if small wound touch am, he go treat am for more than one week.

“I.K. can’t ride a bicycle, talk less of motorcycle. Because of fear, he refused to learn driving despite the fact that they were many people around to teach him."

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Akinola also revealed that the incident had been reported at the Apo Police station, where he had reportedly written a statement before Anigbo's corpse had been taken to the mortuary.