the News

The menace of Jungle Justice is indeed a deep rooted social evil that has led to the loss of countless souls. This misnomer, Jungle Justice, basically involves the trial and execution, usually in a gruesome manner, of alleged culprits who have committed crimes ranging from petty offences like shoplifting to cases like armed robbery. In the laws of the jungle no one is spared as even an attempt at a crime is enough to evoke the wrath of the jungle.

Recently however, the menace has taken a different dimension and its reaching out and claiming new victims- children.

Residents in Lagos and television viewers nation-wide witnessed first hand, the brutality of a mob. It involved the trial, condemnation and execution of an 11-year-old boy, Samuel. This gruesome 20 minute flick which hit the airwaves during the evening news showed in vivid pictures the extent of mans inhumanity to man, or as in this case an under aged boy. Is this the case of a dysfunctional system? A loss of faith in the nations security system and a perceived slow judiciary? A total collapse of sanity and loss of respect for the sanctity of human life? Or is this a case of getting a full dose of justice à la jungle justice? You be the judge.

Our story takes place in Surulere, a suburb in the heart of Lagos, the commercial nerve center of Nigeria. It takes place on a sunny afternoon where the unsuspecting victim, a street urchin named Samuel, is about to be executed by a mob.

11-year-old Samuel was accused of attempting to kidnap a child. A woman allegedly spotted him while he was playing football in the midst of local children. The sum of N50 ($0.38) was found on him and this was to be used, as evidence by his would be accuser as the fee paid to him to execute the job.

According to Samuel he was begging under the bridge at the National Stadium when a Good Samaritan gave him a N50 note. He then decided to take a break to look for water to quench his thirst. This done, he was on his way back to his station when he saw some children whom were his age mates playing football. He readily joined their game and it was at this junction that a woman noticed his presence and not being a familiar face in the neighborhood he was quickly branded a kidnapper. She raised an alarm and in no time a group of people who gathered to hear his story turned into a mob and charged at him.

The boy Samuel, was instantly tried and condemned to death by the mob despite his pleas of innocence. And even when given an option of instant pardon if he owned up to the allegation he stoutly maintained his innocence. He was punched, kicked and mercilessly battered. Scenes of grown men struggling to take shots at the defenseless boy was indeed a sight best left imagined as he was assaulted with planks, sticks, stones and other dangerous weapons. Blood flowed endlessly from his battered body and his teeth fell off one after the other. Yet the mob was not done. They dragged him naked across the tarred road in a trail of his blood to a spot near the National Stadium where he claimed his mother was also begging for alms. The boy Samuel pointed at the direction of a highly frightened woman, who indeed could have been his mother. Hardly had he finished pointing at his supposed mother when the mob charged at her with some deadly blows. It was her prompt denial of him that saved her life.

The most painful scene was when the boy shouted to his mother to save him. “Mummy, mummy, please save me, God please save me, I am innocent”. But nobody would listen to him or believe him and the battering continued. To quicken his death, the area boys, some of who are notorious armed robbers at the Stadium Bus Stop procured some fuel, sprinkled it on him and lighten a match. The boy Samuel who many had thought had died quickly sprang to his feet and dashed across the road, the smoldering fire suddenly quenched. The mob will not let go. They quickly procured more fuel, poured it on a used tyre, hung it around his neck and lighted it again. This time the boy could not run having been blind folded by the previous burning and pinned to the ground by the weight of the tyre. The fire ripped open his small and fragile skull, while his limbs were burnt beyond recognition. The mob yelled and danced in apparent satisfaction.

As bizarre and macabre as this may seem a more ludicrous incident played out a few weeks later when viewers were again treated to another gory scene this time in Edo state. In this case another under aged boy was lynched by an irate mob who after beating him to a state of semi consciousness had him tied to a motorcycle and dragged him to death round the city before setting him ablaze. He was accused of being a witch and was alleged to have fallen from the sky after he ran out of “aviation fuel” while returning from an occult meeting the previous night.

While lynching and mob actions have become a common occurrence in Nigeria, killing of 11-year-old Samuel and his Edo counterpart is indeed unprecedented. However the recent surge in the cases of ritual murders, witch craft, kidnappings, petty theft and armed robbery and with the apparent inability of security personnel to safe guard life and property it is no wonder that people have decided to take the laws into their own hands. As one respondent puts it “what is the point of reporting such matters when such people only get released after about a week with bloated egos and more vendetta?”

In Nigeria, it is generally believed that ritual killers are responsible for missing persons reported daily. Such missing persons, who can be of any age, are most times never seen again or in cases where their bodies are found they are usually in mutilated states and without vital organs. They are thus believed to have been used for moneymaking rituals. The truth of this allegation is yet to be fully investigated. However a recent movie shot in Nigeria, “The Ritualist”, portrays these kidnappers not as occultist as the generality of people believe but a highly sophisticated syndicate involved in the trade of human organs. This syndicate is portrayed in the movie as having international connections with foreigners who are ever willing to buy organs from hapless victims for use in transplant operations for their wealthy patrons. Again this allegation is begging for investigation.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adewole Ajakaiye has held crucial meetings with area commanders in the state and urged them to check the incident of kidnappings. He however warned against lynching of suspected kidnappers. “Nobody has the right to lynch anybody. It is criminal and barbaric. Nobody can take the laws into their own hands. We will arrest anyone who takes part in lynching people and treat them as criminals. Nigeria is a civilized country and anybody suspected of kidnapping should be handed over to the police for appropriate action.” The Ogun State Police Command through its spokesman Mr. Olufemi Awoyale, also warned members of the public from taking the laws into their hands. “The command will not tolerate jungle justice. The law of the land presumes a suspect innocent until otherwise proved by a competent court. How do they establish whether or not burnt people are culpable as proclaimed? How do we investigate? How are we sure they are not innocent people? Awoyale asked. According to him, by killing and burning the suspects, evidence is destroyed as there is nobody to charge to court for kidnapping.

But analysts argue that the rising wave of lynching reflects the frustration of the public that has lost faith in the police and judiciary in checking crime.

This discuss is in no way aimed at castigating any person(s) but only seeks to draw attention to a social ill with a view to providing solutions to it.

Ref. Guardian, news from Africa
Guardian Newspaper