The return to jungle justice

The discovery, sometime ago, of a den of kidnappers and ritual killers at the Soka forest area of Ibadan, the Oyo State, capital, has precipitated a resurgence of attacks on suspected kidnappers in the South-West states of the country. The video of the Soka forest victims, which is on sale in the geo-political zone, became a trigger for the recent wave of lynching of persons suspected to be involved in any attempt to kidnap anybody, even when such persons had not been found guilty of such act by the courts.
From Oyo, Osun, Lagos, Ekiti, Ondo and Ogun states, instances of lynching of suspected kidnappers have been reported, as citizens take the laws into their own hands, ostensibly to defend society from the assault of “kidnappers”. Persons who should be presumed to be innocent as they had not been convicted or sentenced to death by courts of competent jurisdiction were killed at will in orgies of mob violence that should not be heard of in any civilised society. The Lagos Police Command has issued a warning against jungle justice to stem the trend, while the Ogun State authorities were reported to have arrested scores of persons for suspected killing of kidnap suspects in the state.
The emerging scenario has brought back memories of the ALUU 4, the four University of Port Harcourt students who were lynched for allegedly stealing phones and laptops on October 5, 2012. They were brutally beaten and burnt by a baying mob, as a growing crowd watched and cheered the mobsters on.
We strongly condemn the growing resort to jungle justice in the country. At a time Nigeria is attracting global attention for mass murders being perpetrated by Boko Haram insurgents in the northern part of the country, we cannot afford to add this new evil to our already badly bruised image. This bestial rule of the jungle demeans and diminishes us and our country in every way. It shows all Nigerians in bad light, and portrays us as primitive men and women from the dark ages.
The nation’s constitution, in Chapter Four, Section 33 (1) guarantees every Nigerian the fundamental right to his life. It reads in part: “Every person has the right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria”. Furthermore, Section 34 prescribes that “No person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment…”
In addition, the religions practised in the country do not allow one man to take the life of another. There is, therefore, no rhyme or reason to this barbaric descent into anarchy.
In spite of our deficiencies and inadequacies, Nigeria is still a nation guided and bound by laws. Hauling defenceless citizens into the dark chambers of jungle justice is, therefore, criminal. Resorting to the kind of self-help that leads to maiming or killing of suspects is a crime, an indictable homicide, for which if convicted, those involved are liable to the maximum punishment, which is death penalty.
Apart from the criminal angle, it is also mean and immoral to pounce on a man and take his life for an offence that he has not been proved to be guilty of. Oftentimes, the persons who constitute themselves into the accuser, judge, jury and executioner of suspects do not even know the facts of the “case” they are “adjudicating”. They only know that an allegation has been made against the kidnap suspect. Too many innocent people have been killed in the heat of the moment by lynch mobs who hardly know what the suspected kidnappers were accused of.
We urge the Nigeria Police to come out in full force to stop this indiscipline and bring those culpable to justice. It is not enough to rescue victims of mob action from their angry traducers. The police must go a step further to arrest and prosecute those who take the laws into their own hands. It is the only way to stop this unfortunate trend that has a tendency to spread like wildfire.
As abhorrent as mob action is to a decent society, the practice is almost always fueled by denied, delayed or misapplied justice. The frequent failure of our justice system to bring criminals to justice has over the years led to a decline in the trust of ordinary Nigerians in the judicial system. A situation where the police arrest known criminals, keep them overnight and release them to unleash further terror on those who reported them can only lead to frustration and pent up anger.
The only disincentive that will put an end to jungle justice, lynching and mob action is an improvement in the justice delivery system in the country. As long as the people believe that they will not get justice from the courts, they will continue to resort to self-help to bring suspected criminals to justice. When taxpayers believe that the police that they help fund are compromised and have officers who aid and abet crime and criminals, we cannot but continue to witness jungle justice in the country.
We urge all Nigerians to stop jungle justice by refusing to participate in the unconscionable act. The police and the judiciary should play their parts by speedily bringing crime suspects to justice. For the nation to rid itself of this deplorable behaviour, we must all resolve to return to the path of decency, and respect our laws.