Killed Over a Missing iPhone: Death of Jos Model Revives Fears Over Mob Justice

When 26-year-old Ibrahim Mbaya, popularly known as Ibee, left a University of Jos event on Sunday, 26 July, he likely had no idea it would be his last day alive.

Mbaya, according to accounts from people familiar with the incident, spent the night at a friend’s apartment in a student lodge behind City of David, Ring Road, in Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State. By morning, his friend’s iPhone was discovered missing. The phone was never found on him, but Mbaya allegedly became the prime suspect anyway, reportedly the only person among those who had slept in the apartment whom others suspected of taking it.

That suspicion was enough for them. Eyewitnesses said a group of people set upon him, accusing him of the theft and beating him with planks and other objects. By the time Mbaya reached the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), at about 11 p.m. on that day, there was nothing more doctors could do. He was confirmed dead from injuries sustained during the assault.

The Plateau State Police Command has confirmed the incident and announced the arrest of three suspects in connection with the death. Investigations are ongoing.

For many residents of Jos, Mbaya’s death is an unsettling echo of a tragedy that shook the city less than three years ago. In September 2023, Fwinbe Thomas Gofwan was lynched along Domkat Bali Road after a mob falsely accused him of stealing a vehicle, one that was later confirmed to be his own. His killing sparked outrage and led to the establishment of the Fwinbe Thomas Gofwan Memorial Foundation, an organisation dedicated to campaigning against mob violence and promoting respect for the rule of law. A memorial erected in his honour still stands, a quiet warning of what jungle justice costs.

Yet despite repeated calls for restraint and public awareness campaigns, mob violence keeps recurring, driven by suspicion, rumour, and the absence of due process.

As police continue their investigation, the death of Ibrahim Mbaya has, once again, renewed calls for allegations of crime to be handled through lawful investigation, not mob violence.

This is a developing story