Survivor Recounts How Vigilante Group Killed 16 Kano-bound Travellers in Edo

A truck driver who survived the lynching of 16 travellers from Kano State by a vigilante group in Uromi, Edo State, has narrated the harrowing ordeal, refuting claims that the attack was tribal in nature.

The tragic incident occurred in the early hours of Friday when the travellers, believed to be hunters, were on their way from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to Kano for the upcoming Eid-el-Fitr celebrations.

In a viral video, the truck driver, whose identity was not disclosed, explained that he was transporting goods for the Dangote Group to Obajana in Kogi State when he met the hunters at Elele, Rivers State. They pleaded for a ride to the North, a request he initially declined due to company policy.

“I initially refused to give them a ride because it was against my company’s policy. But after driving for about two kilometres, 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 recounted.

According to him, the journey was peaceful until they reached Uromi, where a local vigilante group stopped the truck. The leader of the group questioned him about his cargo and passengers, even after he presented the waybill proving his goods were legitimate.

“He said he 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.”

He further revealed that he and two others—an elderly man named Haruna and a younger passenger—were handcuffed and taken to a nearby police station by the vigilante leader, who claimed to have captured suspected kidnappers.

“By the time he went back to the scene, the mob had already killed 16 people,” he said, his voice trembling with anguish.

The driver strongly dismissed allegations that the killings were a result of ethnic tensions.

“This was not a tribal clash. The vigilante are solely responsible for this attack. They are the ones that caused our people to be murdered in cold blood,” he emphasized.

The incident has sparked nationwide outrage, with calls for a thorough investigation to ensure justice for the victims. Authorities have vowed to bring the perpetrators to book as the nation grapples with yet another instance of extrajudicial violence.