The Niger State Police Command has arrested four men suspected of participating in the mob killing of 30-year-old Sunday Pada in Minna.

The suspects— I​​brahim Abubakar, Aliyu Onah, Godwin Musa and Aminu Bawa, all residents of the Korokpan area of Minna—are alleged to have beaten and stabbed Pada to death on August 10.

The police said the suspects told investigators they had heard someone shout “thief” and subsequently joined others in pursuing and attacking Pada.

Police spokesman, Wasiu Abiodun, said officers attached to the Paiko Division responded to the incident after receiving information that Pada had been seriously assaulted in the Korokpan area. The suspects had fled before officers arrived, while Pada was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Abiodun said three of the suspects were later found in the custody of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency following a raid in the area. They were handed over to the police, while the fourth suspect was arrested separately.

According to the police, investigations indicated that Pada had been returning from a friend’s house when the alarm was raised. The suspects allegedly intercepted him, beat him severely and later stabbed him.

The four suspects are being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Minna, where they are being investigated for criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide