Lagos: Mob beats man to death days before wedding

A Nigerian man identified simply as Basit has been beaten to death by a mob in the Lagos Island area of Lagos State following an alleged hit-and-run incident.

Basit, who had reportedly returned to Nigeria from abroad ahead of his wedding, was said to have been attacked by residents after allegedly knocking down a man in the Patey area of the community.

It was gathered that the incident occurred on Wednesday night.

Basit was reportedly driving through the area when he allegedly hit a male resident who was attempting to cross the road.

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Rather than stop after the incident, Basit was said to have driven away, prompting residents to pursue him. He was eventually caught before a mob reportedly attacked him.

A resident who witnessed the incident but requested anonymity for security reasons said Basit was approaching the other end of Freeman Street when the incident occurred.

“He was coming from the other end of Freeman Street, and the incident happened when he was getting close to the other end.

“A resident was trying to cross the road when he rammed into him. The moment it happened, people thought he would wait, but he did not. He was later chased and caught before the mob descended on him,” the resident said.

Another resident, Afolabi Lawal, said the mob used dangerous objects to assault Basit, leaving him unconscious.

“He was hit on the head with sticks and bottles, which caused him to sustain a head injury. He went unconscious and later died,” Lawal said.

The mob members reportedly fled the area after realising that Basit was no longer responding.

Basit was said to have been about two weeks away from his wedding at the time of his death.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, could not be reached for comment on Sunday. Calls placed to her telephone line were unanswered, while a text message sent to her had not received a response as of the time of filing this report.

However, a police source confirmed that arrests had been made in connection with the incident.

“Some suspects have been taken into custody, and the remains of the deceased have been deposited in the morgue,” the source disclosed.

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