BBC Pidgin of Saturday, 30 September 2023

Source: BBC

'Dem stone am, beat am wit sticks till e die'

A mob | File foto A mob | File foto

Di family of di late Fwimbe Thomas wey mob beat to death wit sticks and stones for Jos, Plateau state, north central Nigeria dey call for justice.

Tori about di alleged mob attack wey lead to di death of Fiwimbe break for social media on Tuesday 26 September, 2023.

Fwimbe be just 35 years old.

Immediate elder broda to di deceased Wakbul Thomas Gofwan narrate to BBC Pidgin how im broda take die untimely afta mob attack am wit sticks and stones, beat am until im die.

Im describe wetin happun to im younger broda as "Jungle misbehaviour and not Jungle justice" sake of say notin like justice dey for di mata.

"Dem tell us say mob beat am, attack am and di mob dey shout barawo barawo (tiff! tiff!) and evribody wey dey around join hand beat am like say dem dey beat tiff."

'I tok to my broda di day im die'

According to am, na im office inform am say dem don see im broda deadibody.

Wakbul say no family member or friend bin dey for di place wia e happun, so na pipo wey see wetin happun na im tell dem as dem begin ask questions about wetin kill dia broda.

"Dem accuse am say e tiff di motor wey im dey drive, meanwhile im don dey drive dat motor for di past two years.

Na motor wey be say from di receipt to all di registration of di car dey in his name, so e still dey shock me how pipo go accuse my broda say im tiff im own motor and dem no even give am opportunity to explain, dem just kill am like dat" Wakul explain.

"Dem tell us say na police contact dem from some of di tins wey dey inside im motor.

E say na around 11 O.clock for morning im tok to Fimbe, di same day wey im die.

"Me and am dey actively involve for one land wey we wan buy and na im dey survey di land sake of say na dia im wan start im own project and im dey also plan im wedding too for next year, 2024.

We bin dey try to start di project so dat e go match wit wen im go do im wedding, so dat afta di wedding, im go park into di house wit im wife.

By 6:00 clock for evening dat day im don already send me pictures of two sites wey im go survey to buy. I choose di one I like out of di two, and we hear say na around 8 to 9 pm dem kill am.

I tok to my broda around 11: 00 am we continue to chat till 6 pm di day im die"

Wakul say na hard time for im family but dem dey try dia best to endure di pain.

"Notin fit console my mama now, she dey grieve non-stop and we understand, even us as siblings e dey pain us well well but wetin we go do? We go continue to live our life sake of say we still get tins to do.

My grandmother, my father, evribody dey feel dis pain, we no know how we wan take manage dis pain, we no get option we just need to bear di pain.

Di late Thomas Fwimbe come from a family of six including im parents, wit four boys as siblings and im be di last born of di family.

"Fimbe na di jewel of di house and we don lose somtin as a family."

Meanwhile di Commissioner of Police Okoro Julius Alawari say dem already dey on top of di situation.

E promise say di pipo no go escape justice as efforts dey on to arrest di killers of Mr Fwinbe Thomas.

According to statement wey di tok-tok pesin, Plateau state Police Command Alabo Fred release, police totally condemn di mob attack on Fwimbe Thomas wey dey 35 years before dem kill am.

"Commissioner of Police, Plateau State Police Command, CP Okoro Julius Alawari totally condemn di unlawful killing of one Mr Fwinbe Thomas"

Police say dem find di deadibody of Fwimbe Thomas for ground in a pool of im own blood along Tudun Wada Ring Road, Hwolshe in Jos, North Central Nigeria around 10.30 pm for night.

"Di Police Patrol Team wey dey attached to di Anglo-Jos Division rush go di scene of di cruel incident wia dem find di victim lying in a pool of im own blood beside one damaged Suzuki Mini Bus wit plenti injuries for im head.

"We suspect say some hoodlums wey we suspect to be commercial motorcyclists popularly known as Okada Riders wey dia operation for Jos Metropolis/Bukuru metropolis dey illegal cruelly beat am to death."

Police say dem take fotos of di victim, den tow di vehicle go police station and carry di deadibody go Plateau Specialist Hospital wia di doctor confam am dead.

Di deadibody dey for hospital mortuary for autopsy.

Since dis sad tori come out on Tuesday, di family of late Fimbe Thomas, friends and well wishers dey call for justice ontop in social media page.

Plateau state goment don also chook mouth for di mata as Deputy govnor of di state Josephine Piyo go visit di family to sympathise wit dem.

Jungle justice na topic wey pipo still dey tok about, even though Nigeria na civilized kontri.

E still dey surprise pipo how dis tins still dey happun in mordern times like dis as e don happun one time too many for Nigeria.

Some of di jungle justice cases wey don happun recently include di death of one Mrs Martina Itabor wey mob burn alive for Akamkpa local goment area, for Cross River State for alleged witchcraft for June.

Also for October, 2022, dem also kill one Mrs Iquo Edet Iyo and four odas suspects.

Dem bury dem for forest sake of alleged witchcraft for Ndon Nwong village, Okurikang, Odukpani local goment area of di state.

For May 2022, angry mob burn one student of Shehu Shagari College of Education Deborah Samuel to death for Sokoto, northern Nigeria on accusation of blasphemy.

Di sad part be say most of dis victims no dey get justice or e dey tey sake of how slow di Nigeria judicial system dey, dis na wetin some experts tok on matas like dis.

One Dr Agwanwo Destiny wey be criminologist for di Sociology department of di University of Port Harcourt bin tell BBC say, “di failure of di criminal justice system na one very important reason why dis tins still dey happun”.

For 2012, mob beat and burn to death four students of di University of Port Harcourt for Rivers state.

Di four students bin run into one local vigilante group early mor-mor for Aluu, one community behind di university.

On accuse say dem be thieves, di mob beat and burn to death di four - Llody Toku, Ugonna Obuzor, Chiadika Biringa and Tekena Elkanah.