Three arrested for allegedly killing two Edo artisans

The Edo State Police Command, on Monday, confirmed the arrest of three suspects for their involvement in the killing of two artisans who were mistaken for armed robbers in Benin, the state capital.

The suspects arrested are Frank Abolo, 37; Samson Odewole, 22, and Happy Ohiowere, 25.

The state police spokesman, Moses Yamu, who confirmed the incident said the three suspects had been charged in court for murder.

Yamu said, “The command is aware of the incident where two young boys unfortunately met their unfortunate situation.

“The command commenced investigation in that regard and immediately arrested three suspects, while two other suspects are at large. Those arrested have since been charged to court for prosecution,” he stated.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident took place early this month in Amagba Community in Oredo Local Government Area of the State.

The artisans identified as Osamudiamen Ehigie and Nosa Aghimie reportedly worked as welders but were mistaken for armed robbers and were beaten to death by a mob in Benin.

They were said to be returning from a project site in Amagba around 6 pm on the fateful when they ran into the gunmen who had just robbed in the area.

It was gathered that the gunmen gave the duo a hot pursuit and in the ensuing confusion, Ehigie and Aghimie ran into a house in the vicinity and hid themselves.

The residents in the neighbourhood who mistook two individuals for robbers, apprehended them and beat them to death, our correspondent learnt.

Consequently, police preliminary investigation exonerated the two artisans from the said crime while the owner of the site they went to work on also affirmed their innocence.

To this end,  police operatives arrested the three suspects alleged to have been directly involved in the lynching.