Angry residents in Ilesha Baruba, Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State have burned the remains of a yet-to-be-identified Fulani man following violent altercation between the deceased and an Islamic scholar identified as Mohammed Ilyasu.

Narrating the incident, police spokesperson SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi said Mr Ilyasu and the Fulani man had an altercation during which both parties sustained severe injuries and were immediately rushed to the hospital for medical attention. 

“Sadly, Mohammed Ilyasu was confirmed dead on arrival, while the assailant also succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment,” she said in a statement on Sunday.

Ms Ejire-Adeyemi stated that some irate youths reportedly stormed the hospital, seized the corpse of the deceased assailant and set it ablaze.

“In a further display of lawlessness, the mob allegedly attacked another man passing through the area and set him on fire. The violent crowd also razed about ten buildings belonging to members of the Fulani community, including the residence of the Ardo Fulani, Alhaji Hassan,” she explained.

Noting that police officers and military operatives were mobilised to the area to restore normalcy, Ms Ejire-Adeyemi said the command launched a full-scale investigation and manhunt for persons involved in the retaliatory attacks, arson, and unlawful killings. 

The state police commissioner, Ojo Adekimi, condemned the acts as criminal, barbaric and a direct affront to the rule of law.

He noted that no individual or group had the right to take the law into their own hands irrespective of the circumstances surrounding any incident.

Mr Adekimi urged residents to remain calm, peaceful, law-abiding and refraining from actions capable of disrupting public peace or inciting ethnic reprisals.