Hoodlums Wrongly Accused My Brother Of Stealing Vehicle, Murdered Him – Plateau man

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Wakbul Thomas, the brother of a commercial bus driver, Fwinbe Thomas, who was attacked and killed by a mob along Tudun Wada Ring Road in Jos, Plateau State, talks to JAMES ABRAHAM a Punch correspondent bout the incident.

Your junior brother, a driver, was reportedly lynched by hoodlums suspected to be commercial motorcyclists in Jos for bashing into a motorcyclist. How did you get to know about the incident and can you narrate what exactly happened?

I saw a report earlier and according to the report, my younger brother had bashed into a motorcycle, and then some people chased him and lynched him. However, I don’t know where that report came from because what I can tell you is that every single person who claimed to have been an eyewitness along Domkat Bali Road in Jos where the incident happened said the crowd that lynched my brother called him a thief and accused him of stealing a car and then chased him and lynched him for allegedly stealing a car.

None of the people who participated in the killing of my brother said he bashed into any motorcycle at the point of the attack and the lynching.  All they were doing was shouting at him and calling him a thief. So none of them said he bashed into a motorcycle. If he bashed into a motorcycle, maybe the motorcyclist needs to tell us that he did that, but no motorcyclist is telling us that he did it.

Who was the owner of the vehicle he drove on the day he was killed?

I don’t know how the crowd arrived at the conclusion that my brother stole a vehicle, which is not true because the vehicle he was driving belongs to him.  It was his vehicle and he had been using it for the past two years. All the vehicle particulars were with him and all of them bear his name. He was driving home when the crowd lynched him just like that. Whether he bashed into a motorcycle or not is in the realm of assumption. We cannot say, because none of us was there. What we can say is that they (the mob) called him a thief and killed him. They did not even say he had a  motorcycle accident. They did not mention that at that point; that is what I can tell you. Only God in heaven can tell what led to them calling him a thief. If they called him a thief, and that he stole a vehicle, why did they vandalise the vehicle? The whole thing is very strange to us. How can you claim that somebody stole a vehicle, you apprehended him, killed him, and also destroyed the vehicle? It’s not consistent with reality. Something is wrong somewhere because the whole thing does not add up.

Where were you when he was killed?

I work in Lagos State. As of Monday (September 25, 2023, when he was killed), I was in Lagos. The following day, when the police were able to recover the vehicle and get some phone contacts, they called some of my late brother’s friends. So it was one of his friends that the police notified that came home to notify my parents and brother who are in Jos. They subsequently called me in Lagos. That was how we returned to Jos immediately.

Was your brother still alive when the police arrived at the scene?

As of the time the police arrived at the scene of the incident, my brother was already dead. When we were informed the next day, it was for us to go and identify the corpse.

What was your last conversation with him?

A few days before he was killed, precisely on September 26, my brother and I were on the phone talking. During our discussion, he talked about acquiring a piece of land, so we talked about land, where it was available and affordable. After our discussion, he later went to check some pieces of land. He even took a picture of the land and sent it to me and we chatted about it for a long time because he was at the site within our neighborhood. I was made to understand that the attack took place between 8pm and 9pm. That was about two hours after we chatted on the phone. So, two hours before he was killed, he and I were chatting on the phone. At that time, the vehicle was there with him. So, there is no question or doubt as to the vehicle and anybody that called him a thief on account of that vehicle is just a liar and a murderer.

Was your brother married?

He was engaged to a lady he wanted to marry. As a matter of fact, we had planned to have their introduction in October before he was killed.

How old was he?

He turned 35 in August. He was born on August 28, 1988.

What kind of person was your brother? Did he have many friends?

He was jovial and very lively. He was like a philanthropist and a people’s person. So, if you ask me who Fwinbe’s friends are, I may end up listing between 10 and 20 people, because he was that type of person. He was also the type of person who disagreed with people respectfully. He was very hard working, though he had hip replacement surgery as a result of an accident he had in 2007. Although he had an impediment in one leg, it never really stopped him from the hard work that he needed to do. He did everything required to be a man despite having a physical challenge.

Was he a commercial bus driver?

He used to be a farm manager in Kaduna State. He worked at the Ministry of Information for a short period. I saw a report which described him as a commercial driver. The main thing he did with the bus was the distribution of noodles because as a family, we run a noodles distribution business. So, he used to supply noodles with the vehicle to our customers. We operate at the distributor level, not retail. He used to supply to some of the retailers and wholesalers. However, when he was not distributing, he carried passengers just to make some money and keep body and soul together. So, he was more of a distributor. Operating as a commercial driver was secondary. That’s just to show you that he was not a lazy person. So, not distributing noodles, he was out there hustling and trying to make a living.

Do you know who reported his killing to the police?

What we learnt was that the police got the report of the lynching and went to the scene. By the time they got to the scene, the crime had been committed and the mob that perpetrated the murder had dispersed. What they (the police) saw was the lifeless body of my brother. So, they evacuated the corpse and took the vehicle to their station. It was from their station that they started searching through the vehicle and the papers in the vehicle to get contact numbers.

So, we don’t know who reported it to the police. The policemen were called to the scene after the incident had happened. My brother‘s phone, however, was not found. To date, we have yet to find his phone. Those who killed him probably took his phone.

Shortly after the incident, the police said they arrested one person in connection with the murder. Are you in touch with the police to know how they are handling the case?

We will, at this moment, acknowledge that the police have been doing a lot of work, and have been keeping the family updated regarding the matter. They introduced us to the investigating police officer handling the case. He has been in touch with the family and has been briefing us on what they’re doing. The police contacted the family and informed us that one person had been arrested in connection with the killing of my brother and the suspect corroborated the story we heard about what happened. However, the suspect, in his version of the story, told us that he was just passing by when he heard the crowd shouting, ‘Thief, thief, thief’ He said he quickly joined the crowd to murder my brother, without knowing what he stole. Can you imagine that? However, it is an ongoing investigation. So, we hope and believe that there will be more arrests and eventual conviction.

Has your brother been buried?

We have arranged for the burial to take place soon. We are from the Kanke Local Government Area. So, his body will be taken from the mortuary in Jos to our village to perform the final rites and bury him in the land of his ancestors.

How has life been without him and how is the family coping?

We are a family of four boys and he was the youngest. As I  mentioned, he was planning to settle down as a family man before he was killed and he had concluded plans and had introduced the lady he wanted to marry to us. We had planned to have his wedding this month. So, his sudden death is extremely painful and sad for us. My parents are uncontrollably grieving and they are devastated. We are in deep pain. We do not have the word to explain the pain we feel about what happened to the family, but it has happened and we take solace in the fact that he has gone to the Lord. We pray that God will comfort us and we will find the strength to bear this loss. Our grandmother is still alive. So, again, the woman is unable to understand how she has lived so long to see her grandchild brutally murdered and as of this moment, she has not been able to regain her composure. So, we are just taking one day at a time and praying for strength from the Lord.

What outcome does your family expect from the case?

The demands are not really for Fwinbe anymore because he is gone. No demand can make Fwinbe come back to life. Maybe as human beings, this is not the type of society that humanity should live in. This is not the type of society that even an animal should live in. How can people just use stones, sticks, and all manner of objects to kill somebody in his bus for doing nothing except that he was going back home after the day’s work? So, I will just call on the authorities and concerned individuals to make sure that this is not an incident that can repeat itself in Jos or any part of the country because human beings don’t deserve die in that manner.

©Punch Newspapers