NIGERIAN YOUTHS FROWN AGAINST JUNGLE JUSTICE

A couple of weeks ago, the picture of a boy, said to be eight years old, who was mobbed and killed for stealing Garri took the social media by storm. While some people believed he was not eight years old as purported, some people believed the picture was only doctored. But be it true or not, it does not stop the fact that we have cases on jungle justice here and there all over Africa.

Just some years back, 4 innocent students were beaten to death by a mob, who believed they were armed robbers. It is in this regard that Nigerian youths take SRAF, a WhatsApp group to express their thoughts about jungle justice. The discussion which took place on the 20^th November, 2016 was moderated by Soul’e Rhymez, a Poet and Public speaker from Nigeria.

According to Adeniyi Maryam, a student from Osun State, who opened the floor that night, saying that Jungle justice is nothing to write home about. People pass jungle justice in order to get justice for themselves, so they say, but I must say it’s wrong.”

A student from Ondo State, Adenle Oluwaseun, talked about the one he witnessed, saying, “just a few months ago, a driver was beaten mercilessly by an angry mob only for them to realize later that he was not driver who had committed the crime they thought he committed.

Jungle Justice is an irrational response to situation beyond our control. People prefer to carry out jungle justice because they fail to think twice, questions of "what if" and "what if not" are not answered before action is taken and this has led to death or mutilations of some innocent souls.”

Expressing his mind on the topic, Oluwasegun Timothy Opeyemi, a student from Ilorin, kwara State stated thus: “from my own point of view, it is an only abnormal person that carries out Jungle Justice. A person with the right mental attitude can never be motivated to kill or join hands in the killing of his fellow human. These people are sick, they have no conscience because if they have one, there should be some reluctance in hurting animals let alone humans like them.”

Speaking in the same breath, Udekwe Johnmary a student currently living in Enugu state, who used a biblical example to portray his view, said “Jungle justice is absolutely condemnable. Christ in His days condemned such justice. There was a woman who was caught in adultery and brought to him; the question asked the woman’s condemners should also be channeled to those that participate in Jungle Justice.”

Kenneth Omovevah, also known as the Student of Life, from Lagos State has this to say: “Jungle justice to me is justice rendered out of selfish thoughtlessness and absolute ignorance. My stand is this: if I steal or commit any punishable offence to you, beat me, get me arrested and probably seriously punished, but to kill me? That's just commuting a crime worse than mine. What is there to gain from ruthless killing, sugarcoated as jungle justice?

Also a young fellow from Lagos, Mac Henry Imafidon, added that  Jungle Justice was a very disguising act and can’t be stopped, relating to his experiences.

He said, “At a tender age, I encountered this act, first at Gowon Estate, Egbeda, Lagos, and second, at Aba, Abia State. I discovered at that age, that many are heartless, killing humans and burning them alive. And let me remind you, it can't be stop because it's not different from politicians, who kill with their swords. There is no difference between burning one to death and killing by sword. Killing is killing, but the fact still remains that it's barbaric.”

Iyanda Mukhtar  .O  from Osun State Nigeria made it clear that Jungle justice is an act perpetuated by jobless and uneducated people, in his own arguments he said,

“From a religious perspective, killing is not good. So why do you have to take life's for something not worth it?  A lot of innocent people have been beaten and killed for crimes they did not commit. Most of those involved in making the justice are also not clean. They are jobless and uneducated, but I believe the judiciary is to be blamed for not performing their duties well enough,” he added.

As for Ness, a student of Lautech, Oyo state, stated that jungle justice was a slap on the face of the judiciary. He then expressed his belief that judiciary has a lot to do to curb the act and also urged the citizen to trust in their interpretation of the laws.

When asked how such act could be curbed, Maryan Adeniyi said that it could be curbed if the police are well mobilized and equipped.

Oluwasegun believes it can only be curbed if thugs and area boys are taken off the streets.

Kenneth says it can only be curbed by paying attention to the small crimes that later turn big and that the authority should not take any situation for granted if they are to stop Jungle Justice.

Mac, who believed it can’t be curbed, says it will only take God to stop it because the judiciary has lost her neutrality.

Finally, Soul’e Rhymez ended the discussion by admonishing the members of the group never to be involved in Jungle Justice and to report it to the nearest authority whenever they see it happen.

He stressed further by saying no great mind or resourceful youth, as they address each other in the group, will involve in Jungle Justice. He also pleaded with them to desist from crimes that could make them a victim of Jungle Justice.

© Soul’e Rhymez, Lagos

Correspondents:

Samuel Abigail, Lagos

Rebecca Awe, Ogun

Mahmud Sufiyan, Lagos