The three men were said to have robbed traders. A mob descended on them, setting them ablaze, it was said.
The incident happened on Saturday. Eyewitnesses said they were “beaten to stupor and burnt alive.”
Reacting yesterday, Commissioner of Police Abutu Yaro said the suspects were lynched before the police patrol team arrived at the scene.
Abutu said, “It is believed that they were the ones terrorising the community using unmarked motorcycles to rob innocent people, especially traders along Owerri Orlu Road, Imo State.
“The robbers were beaten, tied and set ablaze before a police patrol team arrived at the scene. Efforts made to arrest the perpetrators proved abortive as they all ran away on sighting the police patrol team.”
The police commissioner advised members of the public to always hand over suspects to the police for proper investigation and prosecution instead of taking the laws into their hands.