A man is in critical condition after a mob poured hot oil on him for allegedly stealing groundnut oil at a market near the Alakara Police Station in Mushin, Lagos.
The incident happened on Friday, according to residents. Witnesses say the man posed as a customer, stole a bottle of groundnut oil, and tried to leave unnoticed. However, another trader saw him and raised the alarm.
“He pretended to be a customer, and while the owner was busy, he took the oil and tried to leave. He was caught, stripped, beaten, and then the mob heated the groundnut oil and poured it on his back,”a resident said.
After the attack, the man was reportedly dumped in a gutter near the market, badly injured and unconscious.
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On Sunday, a resident, Omoluabi Ifeoluwa, said he was alerted to the man’s condition and found him lying helpless near the Alakara Police Station.
“He had been lying in a gutter for over two days without help. I contacted the Medical Officer of Health and the Divisional Police Officer. We arranged for an ambulance through the Lagos State Emergency Services and rushed to the scene,” Ifeoluwa said.
He said the man was in a terrible condition and needed urgent care. But after cleaning him up, a general hospital reportedly refused to admit him.
“We were told to take him to Gbagada General Hospital, but I couldn’t continue the process without more support. I was left with no option but to let him go,” he explained.
The Divisional Police Officer of Alakara, Enyinna Nwankudu, confirmed the incident.
“When we found him, we contacted health workers who removed him from the drainage. He was thought to be dead, but he was alive. He is being taken care of,” the DPO said.