A suspected phone thief has been set ablaze by a mob in the Gudu area of Abuja.

UGAMATV gathered that the incident occurred around 10pm on Sunday.

It was learnt that the suspect was lynched after occupants of a vehicle he was alleged to have stolen a mobile telephone from raised the alarm.

He was said to have taken to his heels, as residents ran after him.

The mob, after catching up with him, poured petrol on his body and set him ablaze.

When our correspondent visited the scene on Monday, his charred remains were sighted in a ditch by the roadside.

A resident, who gave his name simply as Dawodu, said, “Yesterday (Sunday) around 10pm, I saw people gather here. A young man was beaten to the extent that he could not move any part of his body.

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“He was later burnt alive. I learnt that he stole a phone from a vehicle in traffic. I learnt he took it (phone) through the glass of the car, which was wound down. Unluckily for him, the car was filled with young guys, who chased him and caught up with him.

A spokesperson for the FCT Police Command, Mariam Yusuf, confirmed the incident.

Yusuf, who appealed to residents to stop taking the law into their own hands, said the police were investigating the matter.