A CULTURE OF JUNGLE JUSTICE?

Several incidents over the years have led the media, the international community and human rights activists alike to engage in public outcry over the jungle justice system that once prevailed in Nigeria especially in its largest city, the city of Lagos.

Until recent incidents like the ALUU4 killings and other videos that surfaced in the last one year on the internet, this justice system was believed to be reducing albeit not sporadically. Though several arguments stand in favour and in opposition of this system, the truth is, we cannot engage in behaviour that declassifies us as humans and classifies us as animals. This, it is that the media, several advocacy groups and government have tried over the years to enlighten and re-orientate the populace on but the ALUU4 killings and the recent February killings of suspected robbers in Akwa Ibom call to question how succesfull these campaigns have been.

On a hot sunny afternoon in Yaba Lagos, a sight caught my attention. A group of High schoolers (secondary school students) were fighting, or so it seemed. One was without his shirt and a few others were pouring water on him. By the time I alighted from the bus, they walked past with the shirtless one in front being held and others chanting behind him "ole", an indigenous name for "thief". Then it struck me, these High schoolers are already exhibiting same behavioral traits as seen in the adults, a cause of public outcry over the years.

Jungle justice in Nigeria has taken a cultural dimension. Gone are the days when people stole or did wrong and they were taken before the local council of chiefs, elders or even the king for appropriate punishment. Rather, due to the lost faith in the nation's judicial and executive systems, Nigerians decide to administer justice without fairness, in the jungle way. 

It is arguable that our laws do not adequately cover some crimes committed nor are the penalties awarded or options of fine commensurate with such crimes. However, it would be interesting to see some of the energy we channel into administering jungle justice used in correcting some of these flaws. Also, if we use this energy and unity observable in the execution of jungle justice to hold out facts against perpetrators of crime in our society, perhaps, we would have a better place to live in.

Yes! You do not agree with me on the above paragraph as you site the "Maina Pension scandal", an individual who was proven to have stolen 3billion naira and paid 750, 000 naira in fine. True! You are very right! But then again, if out of our agitations, those among us who are lawyers, intellectuals, devote some part of their time to helping us with some of these inadequacies in our constitution that will be a few drops in the eventual ocean that we require to change Nigeria.

Finally, a culture is a people’s way of life and what better way to prove that jungle justice system in Nigeria is more or less a culture? One practical way to solving this is to engage the young minds through the early socialization agents. A reintroduction of civic education into our primary education curriculum is a laudable idea as these anomalies which have become norms must fast be uprooted from the minds of young people while also working on the re-orientation of the adults as well.

Jungle justice is not novel to Nigeria which means, it goes on in other countries including the ‘almighty’ United States of America but the most important thing is to remind our children, wards, siblings and ourselves that we are not in the jungle, neither are we animals therefore, we must do things according to the laid down laws of the land. Whether these laws are adequate or not remains to be seen.

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