CISLAC Demands Justice Over Uromi Lynching, Calls for Immediate Investigation
Maryam Aminu
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), has strongly condemned the brutal lynching of at least 16 travelers in Uromi, Edo State, and is urging authorities to launch an immediate and transparent investigation into the incident.
In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Comrade Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, CISLAC revealed that the victims hunters traveling from Rivers State to Kano for the Eid celebrations were intercepted by a vigilante group and armed youths, who proceeded to torture and kill them in a gruesome act of mob violence.
According to reports, the victims were beaten, doused in petrol, and set ablaze while onlookers cheered and failed to intervene. Disturbing videos of the attack have surfaced online, sparking national outrage.
CISLAC described the killings as “barbaric” and warned of the growing dangers of unchecked vigilante justice in Nigeria.
The organization is calling on the Nigerian government to ensure that those responsible, including any law enforcement officers who failed in their duty to protect the victims, are brought to justice.
“Under international law, the Nigerian government has an unequivocal obligation to protect its citizens from extrajudicial killings and acts of torture,” CISLAC stated. “Failure to uphold this duty fosters a dangerous culture of impunity, emboldening further acts of violence.”
The advocacy group urged President Bola Tinubu and Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo to take decisive action in condemning the killings and ensuring swift legal action against the perpetrators.
CISLAC also highlighted that the Uromi incident is part of a disturbing pattern of mob violence across Nigeria, particularly in highway communities where vigilante groups have taken the law into their own hands.
The group warned that without firm government intervention, such acts would continue to threaten public safety and human rights.
The statement concluded with a call for urgent reforms, including better police response mechanisms and stronger enforcement of laws against extrajudicial killings. “The Nigerian government must implement both punitive and preventive measures to curb the rising tide of impunity and uphold the sanctity of human life,” CISLAC stressed.
