JUNGLE JUSTICE: THE ACT OF BARBARIC JUDGMENT

When we got there, one of them was still breathing. He was gasping for breath, but the crowd, they were watching while my baby (Lloyd) was butchered.

These were the words of Mrs. Jane Toku, the mother of one of the four undergraduates of the University of Port Harcourt that were lynched at Aluu Community in River State in 2012.

We are to begin the 21st century, but many cities in Nigeria still engage in some barbaric practices. One of such is jungle justice. This is the concept of disregarding the rule of law and taking matters into one's hands. This takes the form of turning suspected criminals into the hands of an angry mob. Such suspected criminals are often subjected to a lot of pains before life is finally taken from them.

The common method of execution is known as "necklacing"; the appalling method of killing which involves putting a petrol-filled tyre around a victim's neck and setting it ablaze.

On November 16, 2016 photos of young boy who was beaten and burnt to death went viral on the internet. The report was that he stole garri. While he was being subjected to immense pain by the mob, others stood and watched, taking pictures and filming the incident. Some others were screaming "hit him well". Apparently we have lost our conscience as human.

For as long as one can remember, there have always been cases of jungle justice in Nigeria. All it takes is for someone to shout "ole", 'thief', then someone seen running away, whether the suspect or not, is apprehended..

This idea should be totally condemned in Nigeria. It is unacceptable. Despite the fact that there are several provisions in our laws that provide that no common citizen should punish another, we see on daily basis that people still breach these said provisions and the law appears to be ineffective.

From the notorious criminal known as "MP" who was beaten mercilessly by an angry mob in the Agege area of Lagos State to the 19-year-old girl who was tortured in Ikeja city mall, this horrific orgy of violence and torture is clearly a demonstration of man's inhumanity to man. One which is completely unacceptable.

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