The Edo State Police Command has arrested a member of a local vigilante in Benin City for allegedly killing an artisan and setting his corpse ablaze.
The Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, Moses Yamu, disclosed this on Sunday in Benin City.
Yamu said the suspect was arrested by operatives of the Textile Mill Road Division following a distress call received from members of the public at about 8 a.m. on February 20, 2025.
He said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the Textile Mill division received a call that they saw the corpse of a middle-aged man lying under sawdust and burning.
According to him, the DPO in charge of the Textile Mill Road division received a distress call at 8 a.m. on Thursday, February 20, 2025, from members of the public who had seen the corpse of a middle-aged man covered with sawdust and set ablazed.
“The DPO mobilised and deployed his operatives to the scene and actually found the corpse burning under the sawdust.
“They took the corpse to the hospital, but they, however, found that there was a gunshot injury on the back of the deceased’s neck.
“Investigation has already commenced, and we have one suspect in our custody who is the security person of the sawmill at the time the incident happened,” he said.
Yamu said the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for in-depth investigations, assuring that at the conclusion of the investigation, the suspect would be charged to court for murder.
It was gathered that the deceased, identified as Lasan Osaze Erhabor, was said to have had a disagreement with the local vigilante member.
It was also gathered that on the fateful day, the deceased was said to be returning home late at night with his friend when they were accosted on the road near the sawmill by the suspect.
The suspect, who was alleged to have been armed with a double-barrel gun, was said to have questioned the deceased about why he was returning late.
The suspect was also alleged to have labeled the deceased a thief and accused him of coming to steal in the sawmill.
It was further learned that during the interrogation, the suspect brought out his gun and shot the deceased to death.
He was said to have dragged the deceased from the roadside into the sawmill, where he allegedly gathered the sawdust in the milling company and set his body ablaze.
