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A woman was this morning beaten to death by a mob in Bauchi after she was suspected to be a suicide bomber.
She was reportedly lynched after she allegedly refused to be searched on her way into the Muda Lawal Market in the northern city.
Bauchi state police spokesman Haruna Mohammed said in a statement:“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”.
He said the mob “set her ablaze,” adding that she died before police could rescue her.
An eyewitness, 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.
“When her hijab was raised over her head two bottles were found strapped to her waist and the crowd descended on the young woman,” he said.
“They beat her to death and placed a used tyre on the body, sprinkled it with petrol and set it on fire,” he said.
But an anonymous police source said it was unlikely the woman was carrying explosives which would have exploded when her assailants attacked her.
“The only plausible explanation is she could have been sent on a test mission to see if it was possible to enter the bus station without being screened,” the source said.