Last week, a young man who was alighting from a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) at Oshodi, Lagos, escaped being dispossessed of his valuables by the whiskers. He almost lost his money as another passenger who was right behind him dipped his hands into his pockets but he was quick to hold the man’s hand to prevent him from stealing his money.
To his surprise, some agberos (touts) who saw the brief encounter asked the passenger what happened. Johnson was smart enough to say it was just a joke between both of them. The agberos replied in pidgin English “Thank God say na joke. We for burn person this afternoon,” meaning they would have burnt someone to death if it wasn’t a joke.
That is how easy it is for someone to lose his life on the streets to mob justice. It is quite unfortunate that jungle justice, which is the unlawful killing of suspects in the most brutal manner, has become so common in Nigeria, that Wikipedia mentioned it as one of the main countries where jungle justice is prevalent. It defines Jungle Justice or mob justice as “a form of public extrajudicial killings in Sub-Saharan Africa, most notably Nigeria and Cameroon, where an alleged criminal is humiliated, beaten or summarily executed by a crowd or vigilantes.”
It should be noted that those who commit this barbaric act called jungle justice, which is spreading like wild fire are no respecters of age, gender or societal status. Men, women and children from various backgrounds have all been victims. There are so many cases of deaths resulting from this crime.
There were reports last year about a seven-year-old boy who was beaten and burnt to death at Iganmu Orile, Lagos, for stealing cassava flakes (Garri). Later reports contradicted the earlier reports, saying the boy was a known thief and the incident might not have occurred in Lagos.
On further clarification of what actually transpired, a social commentator, Taiwo Adigun said, “I thank God the person wasn’t a minor. I just couldn’t live comfortable with the impression that a seven-year-old boy went through that kind of torture.” The point is it does not matter whether the person is a minor or not a minor, it’s a crime and it depicts man’s inhumanity to another.
Sandra Nentapmwa Golen, a legal adviser at Adamakin Investment and Works, told The Next Edition that, “The basic principle of natural justice is that a person accused of an offence must be given an opportunity to defend himself. It is a constitutional right and one of the fundamental principles of human rights. An accused person has a right to defend himself through legal representation.
Everyone is presumed innocent under the law until proven otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction by virtue of section 36(5) of the 1999 constitution. Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria: Fundamental rights. “Every person has the right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life.”
She continued “Some people have argued that jungle justice is as a result of the people’s lack of confidence in the judicial system. But whatever the logic or rationale, some people pose in support of jungle justice, the fact remains that it is unlawful and should be condemned.”
“People who engage in it would be found guilty of murder if proven by a competent court. An instance is the case of the ALUU four.”
In Lagos, December 2013, a boy named Samuel was kicked about, beaten with clubs and then burnt to death. He was only 12 years old. Samuel was accused of trying to lure a school child with N50 with the aim of kidnapping the child.
Despite the horrible situation, Samuel was able to explain his story very clearly when asked some questions by those who murdered him. He was on the street with his mother and possibly brothers and sisters. He explained that “my parents quarreled everyday” and that “my daddy sent us packing. My mother took us to our brother’s house. My brother also sent us away because of bed wetting.”
Based on his explanation, he had nowhere to go so Samuel ended up on the streets of Lagos begging “My mummy asked us to go begging for money to eat,” he said. He begged the mob to take him to his “mummy” whom he claimed was nearby. He showed the mob the 50 naira note that was given to him as a beggar. He pleaded with them saying, “Before God and man I am only a beggar.” His pleas fell on deaf ears as he was murdered in cold bold. The horrific video is still on the internet for all to see.
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What baffles a lot of people is the fact that the faces of the perpetrators are usually caught on camera and people wonder why the security agents are not doing anything to identify such people. The faces of those responsible are very visible in videos. In the case of the 12 year old, The Next Edition learnt that one man was interviewed for about a minute before the incident took place. He excitedly gave reasons why the boy must be killed. The videos are there for security agents to work with. But in Nigeria who will bell the cat?
The fact remains that anyone could be a victim of Jungle justice. It is not something that is peculiar to the poor or someone who doesn’t own a car. You might own a car and hit a passer-by by mistake and the next thing you know people are shouting for your head.
In 2014, a lecturer was reportedly killed in Jos, the state capital of Plateau by an irate mob for hitting three primary school pupils on his way to work. He went to the police station to report himself, but the mob dragged him out and lynched him to death.
The Port-Harcourt four (Aluu), were boys from comfortable backgrounds, but when the evil of Jungle justice was brought upon them, they didn’t take their background into consideration. They were treated just the same way they treat hoodlums who live on the streets.
Unfortunately, innocent people have also been victims of mob justice. Lateef Ayinla shares his experience with The Next Edition, “I went to a shop to buy snacks with a bottle of Coke but there was no one to attend to me.. When I was about to leave the shop, a woman who was the owner of the shop showed up. The first thing she did was to go in and check her drawer for some money she kept. Next thing, she started screaming ‘Ole’ (thief). She accused me of stealing the N2, 000 she left in her drawer. Youths in that neighborhood came and beat me up. They beat me to the extent that I almost fell unconscious. Someone was shouting bring tire before the woman said she had found her money. I thank God she was even able to admit that she found her money.
The only thing he got after the thorough beating was apology. “They only told me sorry, and I managed myself out of the scene, thanking God that I lived to tell the story. I could have been killed for nothing, you know,” he told The Next Edition.
It should also be recalled that on July 21, 2013, Gabriel Nwainokpor, a 25-year old final year student of Delta State University, Abraka, in Delta State, and his friend simply identified as Kazeem who were mistaken for armed robbers were reportedly burnt alive at Ajara in Badagry.
There was a robbery attack about four days to that fateful day in the community. Nwainokpor lived in Badagry but not at Ajara. He was not even in Lagos as reported when the robbery took place as he was in school. He came to Lagos due to the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU) strike. However, youths who were on the look-out for strange faces accosted him and his friend and handed them over to vigilantes.
Unfortunately for them, one of the vigilantes shot himself mistakenly with a locally made gun. The youths got angry and beat them up. To make matters worse, they weren’t with their ID cards to prove they were students. The rest is history.
Another lawyer, Miss Bimbo Abegunde of Kusamotu & Kusamotu Solicitors spoke with the Next Edition in a telephone chat regarding this issue. She said “Jungle justice is a barbaric act and totally off the course in law. Under the law, it is only the state that can prosecute a criminal. Every offender is to be tried in court to determine his guilt or innocence as the case may be. A mob attack, which mostly leads to extra judicial killing, denies the suspects the right to fair hearing.”
The reason why jungle justice persists, according to analysts, is because suspected criminals do not get justice when they are handed over to the policemen. They claim that suspects bribe policemen to have their way and return to the society to continue to torment innocent citizens.
James Elijah, a student, told The Next Edition that police are to blame for the rising increase of mob attack. “If you take a suspect to a police station, they will collect money and let the person go, while the family of the victim remains in perpetual sorrow. The best approach is also to pay the suspect back in his own coin.”
Also, Nurudeen Lawal, a social commentator is of the view that, “The judges, law enforcements agents and lawmakers are to be blamed. Don’t get me wrong. I am not trying to justify the act. But if the people have lost faith in government to protect their lives and properties, they will result to violence methods of doing it themselves.”
Contrary to what Lawal said, Zonal Police Public Relations Officer in charge of Lagos and Ogun State, SP Dolapo Badmus, told The Next Edition that the police are doing their part in regards to curbing the menace.
Speaking with our correspondent she said it was wrong for people to take the law into their hands instead of following due process of law. “There is a law against jungle justice. It is wrong. We will do our part as law enforcement agents but we don’t make the law. The law is clear on jungle justice. If it happens within our jurisdiction, we will do our best to apprehend the culprits. For instance, last year at Alakuko in Lagos, a boy was caught after he broke into a house and stole. He was beaten and burnt to death. We caught three of the perpetrators. They have been charged to court.”
Jungle justice no matter the angle it’s being assessed is wrong because it does not give the victim the opportunity to defend himself. It’s barbaric and must be nipped in the bud to save the society from itself.