A suspected armed robber, wanted by the Enugu State Police, was severely beaten by an angry mob at Eke Market Square in Akiyi, Umulokpa, Uzo Uwani LGA
suspected armed robber, wanted by the Enugu State Police, was severely beaten by an angry mob at Eke Market Square in Akiyi, Umulokpa, Uzo Uwani LGA
A suspected armed robber, wanted by the Enugu State Police, was severely beaten by an angry mob at Eke Market Square in Akiyi, Umulokpa, Uzo Uwani LGA, after being caught with a pump-action gun.
The suspect, Friday Onwujekwu, popularly known as “Nwatico,” was apprehended by residents on Friday, March 13, around 3:30 p.m.
According to a situation report obtained on Sunday, the police received a distress call that the suspect had been captured by members of the public and was being lynched.
Onwujekwu had been declared wanted by the state police command following an earlier attack on a member of a local neighbourhood watch group.
Police sources said that on January 10, 2026, the suspect allegedly attacked Okechukwu Dennis Okoaku at Awkunato Village in Uzo Uwani LGA and dispossessed him of a pump-action gun before fleeing the area.
After months on the run, the suspect was reportedly sighted at the market square while still in possession of the stolen weapon, leading to his capture by residents.
“The suspect who had been on the run was caught at Eke Market Square in Akiyi Umulokpa while armed with the same pump-action gun he had earlier stolen. He was being lynched by an irate mob before police intervened,” the police source said.
A Divisional Police Officer quickly dispatched a patrol team, rescuing Onwujekwu, who had already sustained multiple injuries.
He was initially treated at the Police Clinic in Enugu before being referred to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku-Ozalla, where he remains under medical care.
Police authorities said the case has been transferred to the Command’s Crack Squad in Enugu for further investigation.
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