KANO: A mob in the northeast Nigerian city of Bauchi on Sunday beat a woman to death and burnt her body over suspicion she was a suicide bomber, police and witnesses said.

“At about 0700 hours (0600 GMT), information at our disposal revealed that a yet to be identified lady who allegedly refused to allow herself to be screened at the entrance of Muda Lawal Market Bauchi was attacked by irate mob,” Bauchi state police spokesman Haruna Moham­med said in a statement.

He said the mob “set her ablaze,” adding that she died before police could rescue her. Mohammed said police had deployed to the scene to disperse the mob but no arrest was made.

An eyewitness, Isa Safiy­anu, said that the woman, who was accompanied by a man, raised suspicion when two bottles were found strap­ped to both sides of her waist after she refused to be fris­k­ed with a metal detector at the entrance of the bus station.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2015

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