The Plateau State Police Command has arrested three suspects over the alleged mob killing of a 25-year-old University of Jos (UNIJOS) student, Ibrahim Mbaya, who reportedly died after being brutally assaulted over accusations of stealing an iPhone.
The incident, which has triggered widespread outrage on social media, is being investigated as another case of jungle justice after police confirmed that one of the suspects was captured in a viral video allegedly attacking the victim with a large wooden plank.
According to a statement issued by the Command on Monday, officers at the Lamingo Police Division received a report on July 26, 2026, from a Good Samaritan at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) that some youths had brought an unconscious man to the hospital under suspicious circumstances.
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Police identified the victim as Ibrahim Mbaya of Rayfield, Jos. Doctors at JUTH confirmed him dead on arrival, and his body was deposited in the hospital mortuary for preservation and autopsy.
Following preliminary investigations, detectives arrested three suspects identified as Rinji Daniel Fwanji (25), Emmanuel Newyear (30), and Nensemka Fwanji (22).
Police said Emmanuel Newyear was identified in a viral video allegedly using a large wooden plank to assault Mbaya. Investigators also linked him to photographs obtained during the investigation.
According to the Command, the suspects admitted that Mbaya was accused of stealing an iPhone. Instead of reporting the allegation to the police, they allegedly assaulted him until he became unconscious.
The suspects have since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Jos for further investigation, while police say efforts are ongoing to arrest other individuals believed to have participated in the attack.
Condemning the incident, the Plateau State Police Command described jungle justice as unlawful and warned that no individual has the right to assault or kill a person merely suspected of committing an offence.
The Command stressed that Nigeria’s criminal justice system guarantees due process for every suspect and urged members of the public to report criminal allegations to security agencies instead of taking the law into their own hands.
Meanwhile, reports circulating on social media claimed that Mbaya, who was also described as a model, had spent the night at a friend’s off-campus residence in the Ring Road area of Jos before being accused of stealing an iPhone. The reports further alleged that he was subjected to prolonged torture and degrading treatment before being rushed to the hospital.
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Police, however, said those claims have not been officially verified and remain part of the ongoing investigation.
The incident has reignited national conversations about mob justice in Nigeria, with many Nigerians demanding justice for the slain student and calling for the prosecution of everyone involved in the attack.
