The driver of the 16 hunters has revealed that the commander of a vigilante group in Edo state ordered that the hunters be killed.
The driver revealed this in a video obtained by Daily Trust on Sunday.
The driver narrated how the unlucky hunters were gruesomely burnt to death.
“I took a product from our company in Obajana, and when I reached Illele, I saw these people. They were my brothers from the North – hunters from Rano Local Government Area – on their way home for Sallah. I told them that company policy prohibited me from picking up passengers, but they were my brothers.
“I initially left them behind and drove about two kilometres before I stopped to think; I had abandoned my own brothers, stranded in the South, seeking help. My conscience wouldn’t let me continue, so I turned around and went back to them. When I told them I couldn’t leave them behind, they were surprised but grateful.
“We had no issues on the road until we reached Uromi, where we were stopped. They asked what I was transporting, and I showed them the waybill for my goods. Then they asked about the men with me. I explained who they were, but their leader refused to believe me.
“One of them climbed onto the truck, saw their local hunting guns and dogs, and immediately declared, ‘These people are kidnappers and Boko Haram.’
“Without warning, they smashed my windscreen and side glass, then started beating and stoning us.
“The vigilante commander handcuffed me along with an elderly man named Haruna and a young boy named Ila. They continued beating the rest.
“The three of us were taken to the police station, where the vigilante commander told the officers that he had brought in kidnappers.
“We were locked up, but before he left, he instructed his men to kill the others. And they did—16 to 17 innocent men were brutally murdered.
“As for the governor’s claim that this was not ethnic violence, he is lying! It was just me and the hunters. The vigilantes stopped us and gruesomely killed my brothers.”
