From Joseph Uchenna, in Makurdi
A one-man suspected robber who specialises in motorcycle theft was on Sunday evening set ablaze by irate youths opposite Prime Power Filing Station located at Ankpa ward in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
It was gathered that the suspect had snatched a motorcycle from a motorcycle rider around the Ahmadu Coommasie road in Demekpe area of the town.
The victim quickly mobilised boys in the area who gave the robber a hot chase before finally catching up with him at the Prime Power Fuel Station in an attempt to wait for other vehicles coming from Ankpa quarter junction to pass before crossing the road.
The armed motorcycle snatcher was immediately tied to tyres and was set ablaze before police patrol team from ‘D’ Division could arrive at the scene.
Speaking to our correspondent, the motorcyclist who identified himself as Onoja Okendu, whose motorcycle was snatched and later recovered, thanked God for saving his life.
He lamented over the rising rate of motorcycle theft, stating that some victims had even lost their lives.
Okendu disclosed that he got the motorcycle on hire purchase, at the cost of ₦2 million on October 2025.
“This is how it happened. I was coming from Wadata area through the NKST sharp bed towards Modern Market. Immediately I passed this church, I saw this young man and because today is Sunday, I thought he was coming out of church when he stopped me. He boarded the bike without saying anything.
“So, immediately he climbed the bike and we moved towards the Demekpe primary school, he asked me to stop, that he forgot something. So, as I stopped, the next thing he brought out was a gun and asked me to run. I started running and at the same time shouting thief! thief. Those people around the petrol station blocked him as he was waiting for other vehicles to pass before he could enter the main road. Then, other Okadas were also chasing him.
“Iam appealing to government and security agencies to intensify surveillance. Motorcycles are most times snatched at gunpoint in broad daylight, despite previous restrictions on night-time operations”, he narrated.
He lamented that there were so many motorcycle syndicate in the town who have devised several ways, including snatching motorcycles, using chemicals to incapacitate owners, and stealing parked bikes from homes, markets, streets and called for stronger security measures to halt this trend.
“Government must act swiftly to stop the rising rate of theft in the state and ensure those involved face the law,” Onoja Okendu stated.
Efforts to get reaction from the Benue State Command Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO DSP Udeme Edet to confirm the incident was unsuccessful as she could not pick her calls or respond to text messages sent to her cell phone.
