BEFORE WE SAY NO TO JUNGLE JUSTICE!!!!!!

Again! This was the only word I could utter as I watched the yellow commercial bus (popularly called Danfo) disappear into the busy Highway. Again, I have been dispossessed of my phone. The week before this particular incidence, I had lost my official phone in another Danfo in a similar circumstance. The journey was to be a smooth one, and everything seemed so, until I alighted at my bus stop, then I realized my phone had been removed inside the Danfo! Everything stood still for about thirty seconds. I was shocked at my discovery. "I have been robbed", I mumbled as if I needed to hear the words before I could comprehend what had happened. Finally, I came out of the shock, flagged down a commercial motorcycle (known as Okadas) to make an attempt, which turned out to be futile in tracing my phone. That day, I thought I had lost the little sympathy I had for thieves, irrespective of whatever might have led them to embracing the life of crime. I was wrong.

Two weeks ago, I watched in total disbelief and shock, the video of the gruesome lynching of a young boy, who was caught trying to escape with his accomplice after they attacked and robbed a man of his phone. Others were fortunate, but he wasn’t. As expected, the angry mob vented their anger on him by first beating him to pulp before setting him ablaze. Justice has indeed been served; the justice the mob believes the unfortunate thief will never get if he was handed over to appropriate authorities. Yes, it was justice; one that would even shock barbarians in the jungle.

I remember vividly, the smile Femi, my colleague at work had while he narrated how an unfortunate thief that tried to steal a car was apprehended, and given a thorough beating by an angry mob, most of whom were Femi’s friends. He narrated how several hard objects were used on the thief and how he was let go after so many life-threatening injuries were inflicted on him. He ended his narration saying “I am happy we dealt with him, he got what he deserved. If he had been handed over to the police, he probably won’t spend two hours in their custody before he is released”.

The truth is there are many 'Femis' in Nigeria; many who have lost hope in the Nigerian Justice system and prefer to take laws into their hands. They believe this is more effective than the sham called the Nigeria Justice. Each time jungle justice is meted out on suspected criminals, the Nigerian Police, the government and legislators are quick to condemn the act, with the Police promising to bring the mob to justice. Empty statements that disappear after being uttered!

However, to eradicate jungle justice, the Nigeria police has a lot of work to do in rebuilding its integrity and restoring the confidence of the Nigerian citizenry. Many Nigerians see them as a bunch of unprofessional, lazy, ignorant men in uniform who take delight in harassing and dispossessing hard working Nigeria of their hard-earned money, while they neglect their primary responsibility of protecting the citizens. Sadly, this is our reality; a significant number of Nigerians have at a time experienced police brutality and maltreatment for various reasons. Prominent amongst these reasons will be because they refuse to part with their hard-earned money to the chagrin of the officers. How then is the citizen expected to trust the Police with criminals they catch, when they know such criminals could secure their freedom once they are ready to pay the police well? It has even been reported that some criminals boast to their  about how they have the Nigerian Police on their payroll. The Inspector General of police and his team have to as a matter of urgency restore the integrity of the once respected force. They need to rid the system of corrupt and unpatriotic police personnel. This will surely go a long way in restoring the confidence of the citizens in them. Also, the police-citizen relationship is strained. The Inspector general needs to work on this as a good police-citizen relationship is crucial in the fight against crime.

The Nigeria Government needs to do more than the condemnation of jungle justice. Unemployment has been fingered as a cause of crime. The Nigerian government needs to overturn the rapidly growing unemployment rate witnessed in the last decade. The youths need to be employed, and those with entrepreneurial ideas should be empowered. I believe if this is done, crime will be greatly reduced, if not eradicated.

Finally, the media should increase its attention span on criminal cases. Citizens want to know the end of criminals standing trials. Cynthia Osokogu’s case is still fresh in my memory. The media did a good job in its covering of her unfortunate death and how her suspected killers were arrested. However, the trial of her suspected killers is receiving little attention from the media. Only a few media outlets are providing updates on the trial of her killers. ALUU 4 is even worse, there have been relatively no update on the trial of those arrested for the death of the four undergraduates killed in ALUU community.  The media needs to do more. There should be full coverage from the time the crime was committed till the final justice served is made known to the citizens. This might change the mind of those who are in, or want to venture into the world of crimes.

Jungle Justice is a barbaric act and it should not have a place in our society. However, Just before we say NO TO JUNGLE JUSTICE, the Government, Police and media needs to do more than condemnation in ensuring that the Nigerian Society is completely rid of it. 

Kudos to Mr. Akande Abdulwasiu for this wonderful article.

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