The police yesterday launched a manhunt for the killers of three policemen in one week in Lagos and Edo states.
They vowed to crack down on acts of jungle justice and the killing of their men.
An Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Augustine Osupayi, was killed in Lagos on Saturday by a mob.
Gunmen killed a policeman at a quarry site in Edo on Thursday, days after residents razed a police station, killed an officer and set suspects ablaze, also in Edo State.
The police, in a statement by Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), deplored such savagery, saying it was a betrayal of justice and due process.
He said: “The Police condemn the act of arson which led to the burning of some suspects in police custody, and the subsequent setting ablaze of police barracks, patrol vans and the Divisional Police Station in Agenebode, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State on Sunday, 13th of October 2024.
“In the above case, members of the public alleged that the police were trying to pervert justice by taking into custody some suspected kidnappers and armed robbers who have been accused of terrorising the people of the community in Edo State.
“The main suspect was arrested and almost lynched by the community members before he was rescued by the police.
“His arrest led the police to arrest three additional suspects.
“The rescue and detention of the suspects didn’t go down well with the community members who later mobilised in large numbers and attacked the police station, killed the suspects by burning, and scorched down the station and properties therein.
“The erroneous perception of the community members that the police would set free the suspects was absolutely wrong and quite unfair.
“The police never intended to pervert justice in the case, more so that they have through painstaking investigation arrested three other suspects fingered in the criminal act.
“In another development, a police team trying to prevent the execution of jungle justice was gruesomely attacked which led to the killing of a police officer, ASP Augustine Osupayi, attached to the Lagos State Command, by a group of violent mob on Saturday in Agege, Lagos State.
“The police team had raced down to the rescue of a driver who was alleged to have accidentally knocked down a motorcycle rider to death.”
The group of motorcycle riders, Adejobi said, pounced on the driver, who was eventually rescued by the police.
He said the rescue did not go down well with the riders who descended on the police team and killed the ASP.
“These are very few cases out of many incidents recorded across the country.
“The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, sympathises with the families of the departed souls and directs the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) to investigate these incidents and bring all persons found wanting to face the full wrath of the law.
“While the Nigeria Police Force remains resolute in upholding the principles of rule of law, members of the public are urged to shun acts of jungle justice, and destruction emphasising that it serves only to destabilise the foundation of legal authority and public safety.
“It is criminal, illogical, and unjustifiable, irrespective of the grievances held by the perpetrators,” he added.
Police officer killed in Edo
The Police yesterday confirmed the killing of an inspector when some gunmen attacked quarry workers in the Ihivbe-Ogben area of Edo State.
Command spokesman, Moses Yamu, said one officer was killed while an expatriate and another police officer attached to the expatriate were injured.
The officer was attached to the quarry situated in Owan East Local Government of the state.
It was learnt that the gunmen ambushed the quarry workers en route to their base camp on Thursday evening and opened fire on them.
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