Jungle justice a reflection of Nigerians’ temperament, says Akwa Ibom commissioner

The use of jungle justice by Nigerians to lynch those who have allegedly committed crimes is a reflection of Nigerians’ temperament hence there is the need for reorientation of the people.

Akwa Ibom State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Uwemedimo Nwoko, made this assertion in an interview in Uyo, saying jungle justice was not lack of faith in the nation’s criminal justice administration system but has to do with people’s temperament.

He said the issue should be addressed from a sociological point of view, rather than the legal.

His words: “The temperament of an average Nigerian is high.  I think that the resort to jungle justice is basically a reflection of our temperament because our people ordinarily distaste certain acts that are immoral, dehumanising or that tend to undermine the lives and values of our society.

“It is not lack of faith in criminal justice administration system but the measure of our temperament. It is the way we respond to things generally and it cuts across all parts of the country.

“Once somebody is identified as a thief, ritualist or kidnapper, people respond very violently towards him. It is the natural way we react to things and the temperament of average Nigerians is very high.”

He explained that Nigerians’ resentment towards theft, kidnapping, ritualist and other vices was natural, and debunked claims that Nigerians resort to jungle justice due to lack of confidence in justice administration system.

“I don’t think that is very true. It is not just that because if you catch a person and hand him over to the police, the police will set him free. It is just because of their temperament. It is because of the level of mismanagement of their anger,” he added.

Speaking, AIG, Zone Six, Calabar, Abubakar Marafa, called on the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to help in sensitising members of the public against jungle justice, stressing that anyone caught by the police would be charged to court.

He called on the public to have confidence in the Nigerian Police rather than resort to jungle justice when criminal cases occur.