BY DAKUKU PETERSIDE
There is an epidemic of mob justice in Nigeria today, and the frequency at which they occur shocks our shared sensibilities. The ubiquitous nature of jungle justice across all parts of Nigeria leaves any discerning mind to wonder how low we are falling as a nation.
Every week, we are served on social media with images and videos of an angry mob killing and desecrating the bodies of citizens who are victims of this madness sweeping through our society.
Life almost has little or no value on our streets, and it seems no one is exempt from the cold hands of jungle justice if you are at the wrong place and at the wrong time. Recent examples will demonstrate the prevalence and spread of mob justice in Nigeria.
Commercial motorcyclists lynched a sound engineer identified as David Imoh in the Lekki axis of Lagos State a few days ago. David and his friends were attacked by a mob of Okada riders over a misunderstanding concerning a N100 balance.
Some motorcyclists present at the scene joined their colleague to beat up David and two of his fri ends resulting in David’s demise and his two friends in hospital fighting for their lives.
The mob of motorcyclists who, at the slightest provocation or altercation with any of their colleagues, meting out jungle justice is becoming a common phenomenon in our big cities.
In a similar incident, at least eight persons were killed during a clash between traders and commercial motorcyclists in the Dei-Dei market area of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
A trailer killed the passenger of an “Okada rider” due to reckless driving, and the traders in that area of Abuja set ablaze the motorcycle.
The other Okada riders formed a mob, killed and maimed many people, and burnt down houses and stores of many traders. The whole scene was a wild orgy that negated any form of civilisation.
The satisfaction derived from taking a life that was known to some of them could only come from psychopaths.
Nigerians are disturbed about these incidents and are rightly so. The fundamental element of a democracy is to protect the life, property and liberty of the people, but today, in the most populous black nation of the world, the life and freedom of the people are almost worthless.
Citizens take laws into their own hands, which results in the death of other citizens with no consequences. This resort to jungle justice by people is symptomatic of broader issues that plague our society. What are some of these issues?
First, there is a growing malaise of social angst, frustration and discontent with society and social systems in our country. People are losing faith in society and are easily provoked and resort to self- help even in criminal and social justice issues.
The reason for this may be the constant and ongoing degradation of most Nigerians’ quality of life which leads to frustration, and they are ready to unleash their anger on anyone or anything that causes slight irritation to them. We have a huge youth population that is unemployed, or completely unproductive. These angry and unemployed youths are the catalysts of such mob actions.
Second, our ethnic and religious fault lines are sharp and edgy. Increasingly, issues are dichotomised on ethnic or religious lines and based on the side of the divide one falls, one interprets and acts towards social and religious matters.
“Citizens take laws into their own hands, which results in the death of other citizens with no consequences. This resort to jungle justice by people is symptomatic of broader issues that plague our society”
The real danger of rising incidents of lynch mob is in the proven power of spontaneity. When the sudden eruption of mob violence feeds into existing ethnic and political divisions, they could engulf a wider spectrum and become a national security concern.
Third, Nigerians increasingly are losing trust in our law enforcement and criminal justice system, and are resorting to self-help to deal with what they perceive as a crime against society.
Our law enforcement system is almost in shambles, and many are not relying on it any more, to enforce law and order. The corruption in the system is palpable, and everyone knows that. Our judicial system is slow, clumsy, and sometimes ineffective. Justice delayed is almost the same as justice denied.
Fourth, normalisation of violence in our society has become a cultural resort. There is a growing insensitivity to acts of violence because of too much exposure to violent acts in our society. Terrorism, banditry, secessionism, “unknown gunmenism”, riots and social unrests, and high- and low-level criminality abound and are bombarded to our senses through social media, digital images and traditional media that we are “unshockable”.
The unintended consequence of exposure to such gruesome authentic images of an orgy of mutilation and death is that society becomes narcotised to them, which lowers our sense of decency, humanity, and value of life.
It behooves us to improve the situation and reduce mob justice in our country. It is an anomaly that people provide tacit legitimacy to such “mob justice” under all sorts of excuses, and it reflects the larger malaise of loss of faith in law enforcement and the judicial systems.
It is the truth that we have a barely functional and fractured law enforcement and judicial system, where it takes years before one can hope to get justice. But does it mean we should encourage sidestepping of the system? We must realise the gravity of the danger it poses to us as individuals and society.
As a people, we must remove the inertia in our judicial process and make the system practical for delivering justice as quickly as possible to restore public trust in the criminal justice system. We need a complete police reform to gain people’s trust in the law enforcement system in Nigeria.
People who engage in mob justice must be arrested and prosecuted and punished by the law to serve as a deterrent to others. If people know that such actions may have no consequences, they are encouraged to carry on with impunity. We must “save ourselves from ourselves” on this road to perdition.
CAVEAT: Views and opinions expressed here are those of the writers and are not in any way those of The Point Newspaper – Editor
