By BANNERNEWS Reporter
A palace guard identified as Isma’ila Zaria has been lynched by an angry mob in Keffi, Nasarawa State, following allegations that he killed a teenage boy after a dispute with the boy’s father.
The victim, Aliyu Muhammadu Lawal, was reportedly killed in the Sabon Kasuwa area of Keffi, triggering outrage among residents after his body was discovered in a nearby pit.
Witnesses said suspicion quickly fell on Zaria, a guard attached to the Keffi Emirate Palace, who was alleged to have had a long-standing disagreement with the boy’s father, Muhammadu Lawal.
A local vigilante group reportedly arrested the suspect and took him into custody, but an irate crowd later overpowered the vigilantes, set the suspect ablaze and killed him before security agencies could restore order.
Police officers who later arrived at the scene were said to have faced resistance from the mob, with some officers sustaining injuries and patrol vehicles damaged.
Speaking to onlookers, the bereaved father said he had previously quarreled with the suspect over noise disturbance in the neighbourhood, adding that he could not confirm whether the disagreement was linked to his son’s killing.
A traditional title holder, the Kakakin Sarkin Keffi, Yahaya Ladan Shafale, confirmed that the Emir of Keffi had earlier dismissed Zaria from palace service, stressing that he was no longer a palace guard at the time of the incident.
Shafale condemned the killing of the teenager, describing the incident as shocking and unprecedented in the historic town of Keffi.
Confirming the development, the Nasarawa State Police Command spokesperson, SP Ramhan Nansel, said the incident occurred around 12:30 p.m. following a distress call from a vigilante commander in the area.
According to him, the suspect was already killed by the mob before police arrival, but officers later evacuated the burnt body to the General Hospital in Keffi, while investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incident are ongoing.
