It was a chaotic scene last weekend when passersby set ablaze an alleged ritualist intercepted at a manhole near Five Star-Toyota bus stop, along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.
For some time now residents of Aswani, Isolo, have been complaining of insecurity in the area, especially at nights along the axis.
Investigation revealed that suspected kidnappers were caught after a street sweeper working for Lagos State Management Authority (LAWMA), sighted them in a manhole as she attempted to burn collected refuse.
One of the passers-by at the scene of the incident stated that it was the smoke that chased them out from their hideout.
According to him, this is not the first time alleged kidnappers have been found hiding inside drainage channels.
He narrated a particular case in 2020, when some suspected ritualists, tried to kidnap a baby but were lynched near the Alabukun office, along the expressway.
Also, three suspected kidnappers, he said were caught at a canal, near the Shogunle area, off the Agege Motor Road, near Oshodi, the same year.
In that case, a street sweeper raised the alarm when the suspected kidnappers were dragging her into a canal. Luckily, she was saved by passers-by and the suspected kidnappers were handed over to the police.
He said: “After the sweeper finished doing her job for the day, she decided to burn the waste inside the manhole leading to nearby drainage. A few minutes later, we saw two men coming out from the other part of the drainage. They were looking rough. They were stopped and interrogated by an angry mob before a police patrol van stopped and picked them up.
This irritated passers-by, who lit up the fire with used tyres and threw them inside the manhole with the belief that more suspects may still be inside. The smoke drove another suspect out of the canal and the angry mob attacked him before another police van could come to pick him up. A few minutes later, another one came out and he was burnt alive immediately before a police van arrived.”
Confirming the incident, Adeleke Ojajuni, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Aswani police station, said before police officers could get to the scene, a patrol vehicle from another station had rescued two suspects from the angry mob.
According to him, when police officers from Aswani police station got to the scene they were able to rescue one of the suspects from the angry mob and took him to a nearby hospital for treatment.
“ It was at the hospital we received a call that another suspect had been caught, beaten and set ablaze by the angry mob,” he said.
Spokesperson for Lagos State Police Command, Superintendent of Police (SP), Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that one person was arrested by the police and taken to the nearest hospital for treatment after he was injured by the mob at the scene.
He said after the suspect regained consciousness, the doctor at the hospital certified him mentally challenged and recommended that he be moved to a psychiatric home.
But Hundeyin could not confirm if the suspect had been moved to a psychiatric home.
