Ben Agir, a serving National Youth Service Corps member, was allegedly beaten to death by community vigilantes in the Buruku Local Government Area of Benue State.
According to reports, the incident occurred in the Anibros community during the vigilantes’ night patrol operation.
According to a local source, the deceased was apprehended on suspicion of stealing a motorcycle.
The Chairman of Buruku LGA, Raymond Aondoakura, confirmed the incident to journalists on Thursday, saying it occurred on Sunday night between 11 p.m. and 12 a.m.
The chairman said, “The report came to me on Monday around 4 am. The incident happened at the Mbajor settlement near the Local Government Secretariat.
“From what I gathered, they said they caught him and suspected that he was a bike snatcher. Before he could explain himself and present his identification card, one of the leaders started beating him, claiming that he was not telling them the truth.
“They beat him to a coma, and seeing his condition, they took him to a hospital that night, and he died.”
According to him, the suspects have been apprehended and handed over to the police for further action.
“We confirmed that the deceased was a serving corps member,” the LG chairman stated.
He also revealed that the council has temporarily stopped the activities of vigilante organizations in the area pending suitable regulation.
Mrs. Veronica Ogwuche, the state’s public relations officer for the NYSC, informed reporters that preliminary information showed that the deceased was not a corps member serving in Benue and could have been serving in Gombe State.
Attempts to contact the Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, were fruitless, since calls and texts were not replied to at the time of filing this report.
