By Zayd Ibn Isah
I have come across many quotes on mob justice, but none resonate with my conscience quite like this powerful statement by the American politician and lawyer, Robert F. Kennedy:
“What has violence ever accomplished? What has it ever created? No martyr’s cause has ever been stilled by an assassin’s bullet. No wrongs have ever been righted by riots and civil disorders. A sniper is only a coward, not a hero; and an uncontrolled or uncontrollable mob is only the voice of madness, not the voice of the people”.
Robert Kennedy made this profound statement during a period of chaos in the ‘God’s own country’ when he gave a speech on April 5, 1968, in Cleveland, Ohio. Unfortunately, Robert F. Kennedy’s fears became a harsh reality, as he was brutally murdered in 1968, the very year he delivered this powerful message on mob justice.
Although the assassins succeeded in taking his life, they have not been able to erase the deep impact of his words regarding the futility of self-help and other forms of violence, as I always recall his profound words whenever I encounter cases of mob justice on social media.
This was exactly the case when I came across the heartbreaking story of Barrister Uduak Adams, who went in search of a house on Aborishade Street, Surulere, Lagos. Sadly for her, she was almost lynched to death after a woman accused her of attempting to kidnap her son. She would have been killed, if not for the intervention of the policemen who came and rescued her.
As is typical in the court of public opinion in Nigeria, devoid of fair hearing, the irate mob did not wait to hear her side of the story. All they knew was that someone had accused her of attempting to kidnap her son, and there appeared to be prima facie evidence pointing to her as a kidnapper. Reading about her near death experience, as posted on X (formerly Twitter) by a concerned Nigerian seeking justice on her behalf, left me deeply alarmed for my own safety. It made me realize that I, too, could be casually walking on the streets and someone would walk up to me and accuse me of stealing his or her property, leading me to get beaten to a pulp by lawless individuals to the point of being killed.
The rate of mob justice in Nigeria is quite alarming, to say the least. According to a report by SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence, between 2019 and May 2022, at least 391 persons have lost their lives at the hands of angry mobs across several states in Nigeria. These staggering numbers shows a disturbing trend of vigilante justice that poses a serious threat to the principles of justice and the safety of individuals.
Many people have placed blame, and continue to do so, on law enforcement agencies and the judiciary for the rising spates of jungle justice in the country. They question why the people wouldn’t resort to self-help when the police and the judiciary are not helping matters. They would argue that if these institutions fail to address grievances, the population may feel compelled to take laws into their own hands.
But the implications of individuals taking laws into their hands because they feel the country’s administration of the criminal justice system has failed is that innocent people, like Barrister Uduak Adams, may fall victim to vigilante justice. Not every victim of mob justice would be lucky to live to tell the story, as she did. Her painful experience should serve as a lesson to those who believe that resorting to violence for justice is acceptable.
We must realize that we could become the next victims of the chaos we propagate. The truth is, no matter how slow and ineffective we perceive the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria, it is still better to allow the law to take its course than to descend into anarchy. We must remember that the law in Nigeria, as in many other countries, states that you are innocent until proven guilty, not guilty until proven innocent, as it sometimes appears to be in the court of public opinion.
There are a plethora of laws which criminalizes mob justice in Nigeria. Section 33(1) of the Nigerian Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) unequivocally asserts, “Every person has a 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.”
Likewise, section 8 (1 and 3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, explicitly criminalizes jungle justice and any form of degrading treatment. However, despite the existence of these laws, mob justice persists and poses a significant challenge to the rule of law and social order in Nigeria.:
This year alone, we have witnessed more than ten cases of mob killings. One notable incident involved the death of a 35-year-old Olorunfemi Tope, who was suspected of being a ‘Yahoo boy’ and was lynched by a mob for allegedly causing a fatal car accident in the Ijoka area of Akure, the Ondo State capital. Tope, a ride-hailing driver, lost control of his car and collided with individuals on commercial motorcycles (okada). Sympathizers rushed to the scene, discovered what they deemed ‘fetish items’ in his vehicle, and suspected him of involvement in rituals, commonly known as ‘yahoo plus.’ The rest, as it is often said, is history. This dastardly act took place in April.
Tragically, that same month, Okolie Arinze, a 500-level Civil Engineering student at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, was beaten to death by his fellow students at the university hostel. He was accused of cell phone theft without being given the opportunity to defend himself in a court of law.
There is also the case of Dave, a sound engineer in Lagos, who boarded a motorcycle with his colleague, Philip. Upon reaching their destination, an argument erupted over ₦100, leading to a physical altercation. Fellow cyclists joined forces with their colleague and overpowered them. Tragically, this confrontation resulted in Dave’s death, as he was lynched by the mob. His colleague managed to escape but sustained life-threatening injuries in the process. Although this sad incident happened last year, the memory is still fresh in my mind.
To say that jungle justice has become a recurring issue in Nigeria is to state the obvious. I am disheartened by the gruesome stories of mob lynching that occur across different parts of the country. Regardless of a person’s age or their alleged crime, we must strive to be more tolerant and law-abiding.
We urgently need a paradigm shift for the better. The persistence of jungle justice in our contemporary society underscores how law we have fallen as a people, and how far our administration of criminal justice system has deteriorated. However, jungle justice should never be an alternative to punishing offenders. Instead, we must continue to work diligently to restore confidence in our justice system.
Addressing this issue demands a comprehensive and collaborative effort that not only enforces existing laws but also delves into the underlying factors fueling this perilous practice.
Jungle justice is a heinous crime. Let’s unite and unequivocally say NO to it.
Zayd Ibn Isah can be reached via: isahzayd@gmail.com
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