Suspected suicide bomber burnt alive in Bauchi

A mob at the Muda Lawal market in Bauchi state set ablaze a suspected female suicide bomber on Sunday.

Infuriated by her refusal to be searched, the mob concluded that she was a member of the Boko Haram sect on a mission to wreak havoc in the market and descended on her immediately.

Witnesses said the mob put a tyre sprinkled with petrol over the head of the suspect and set it on fire after she was beaten.

Haruna Mohammed, police public relations officer (PPRO) in the state, confirmed the act but described it as jungle justice.

Mohammed lamented that rather than handover the suspect to the police for interrogation, the people decided to take the law into their hands.

He said investigations into the incident were ongoing and advised members of the public to make sure that they alert security agencies whenever the need arises.

The high rate of insecurity in the northern part of the country has raised the level of suspicion of members of the public and have also led to situations where innocent victims were mistaken for insurgents.

On February 14, Ahmed Falaki, a professor at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, was hacked to death in Kibiya local government area of Kano state on the suspicion that he was a member of the sect.

Two suspected female suicide bombers were also stoned to death at a market in Maiduguri late last year.