How Kano-bound passengers were eliminated in Uromi – Truck driver narrates ordeal
The truck driver who survived the lynching of 16 Kano State extraction travelers by a vigilante group in Uromi, Edo State, has described the terrifying ordeal.
He rejected allegations that the incident was ethnic in nature.
The event happened early on Friday morning when the travelers—who were thought to be hunters—were traveling from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to Kano in preparation for the Eid-el-Fitr holiday.
The truck driver, whose identity was withheld in a widely shared video on the internet, claimed that he was delivering the Dangote Group’s cargo to Obajana in Kogi State when he ran across the hunters at Elele, who were looking for a trip to the country’s north.
“I initially refused to give them a ride because it was against my company’s policy. But after driving for about two kilometers, I felt guilty for abandoning them. After all, they are my fellow Northerners from Kano State, so I went back and picked them up,” the driver said.
He claims that the trip was uneventful until they reached Uromi, where a vigilante group stopped them. The vigilante leader allegedly asked the driver about his passengers’ identities and his cargo. The vigilante commander allegedly voiced misgivings about the hunters despite providing the waybill for the goods, especially because of their firearms and dogs in the truck.
“He said he (Vigilante Leader) didn’t trust them and demanded they come down. As soon as the crowd saw their guns and dogs, they attacked us,” the driver narrated. “The commander told the crowd that we were kidnappers and Boko Haram, and they started beating us mercilessly.”
The vigilante commander reportedly handcuffed the driver and two other men—a younger man and an older man—who were identified as Haruna. They were then brought to a local police station. The suspects were immediately detained after the vigilante told the police they had apprehended suspected kidnappers.
“By the time he went back to the scene, the mob had already killed 16 people,” the driver revealed, his voice filled with anguish.
Nevertheless, he flatly denied any indication that the episode was a tribal conflict. This was not a fight between tribes. This attack is entirely the vigilante’s fault.
He emphasised, “They are the ones who led to the cold-blooded slaughter of our people.
Nationwide, there has been strong condemnation of the horrific incident and requests for a thorough inquiry to find the criminals.
