The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), yesterday, called for an effective policing system and efficient legal system to curb cases of jungle justice becoming ubiquitous in Nigeria.
HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said that with an effective policing and responsive judicial system, the masses will have faith to get justice and turn away from jungle justice by allowing the system to punish offenders.
The group recalled and condemned the killing of a young man, Temitope Olorufemi, who was lynched by a mob in Akure, Ondo State for being a suspected Internet fraudster and a ritualist.
It would be recalled that on Monday, April 10, the deceased was killed after he was accused of crushing at least one person to death along the Ijoka Road, and fetish items allegedly were found in his car. But the deceased’s mom explained that her 25-year-old son was a cab driver and had been gifted the car by his dad.
According to a report by Daily Trust, at least 158 Nigerians died as a result of jungle justice between January 2021 and June 2022.
Last year, a mob of Islamist fundamentals lynched Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, on the school campus.
Also, in 2022, a mob of Hausa okada riders lynched a young man, simply identified as David, burning him to death over a misunderstanding that ensued because of an N100 balance with a commercial motorcyclist.
Similarly, a suspected motorcycle thief was set ablaze at the Irete market, Owerri West Council of Imo State.
In the same year, two suspected robbers were lynched by a mob along Onitsha-Owerri Road, Anambra State. A mob also lynched a suspected kidnapper whose gang members abandoned along Obosi Road, Awada near Onitsha, Anambra State.
In February 2019, an angry mob lynched and burnt to death a suspected armed robber who was among a gang of seven that invaded the Eziama area in Aba North Local Council.
Onwubiko said: “There is a paramount need to end jungle justice by building an effective and efficient police that would be capable of enforcing the law and preventing people from taking the law into their hands.
“The policing and judicial systems must cease to be cash-and-carry and administer justice in a fair manner, thereby, regaining the trust of the people, especially on criminal matters.”
Source: The Guardian
