A 23-year-old scavenger simply identified as Nura was reportedly manhandled by a mob for allegedly stealing a pot of rice at Kango community in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

A resident of Kango, Ayuba Iliya, said the incident happened on Tuesday around 11:23am when the scavenger allegedly took away the pot of rice on fire at a compound in the area.

He said a woman identified as Margaret left the rice on fire to fetch water from a borehole in a neighbour's house when the incident happened. The woman raised the alarm when she returned and could not find her pot on fire.

Iliya said a neighbour saw the scavenger when he parked his truck, entered the compound and removed the pot of rice from fire.

"He took away the pot of rice and kept it inside his truck, not knowing that a neighbour was watching him. He raised the alarm that attracted the attention of some people, who rushed to catch and beat him up," he said.

He said it took the intervention of some residents and vigilantes in the area to rescue the scavenger from the mob.

Our reporter learnt that residents of the community have been complaining over the disappearance of their cooking pots and water drums, pointing accusing fingers on the scavengers.

City & Crime also gathered that a similar incident happened last Sunday, when some suspected scavengers invaded a house at Unguwar Sabon-Tasha in Abaji and allegedly made away with six different sizes of big cooking pots and spoons.

The spokeswoman of the FCT police command, SP Adeh Josephine, is yet to confirm the incident as at the time of filing this report.