The alleged torture of a farmer in Ekiti State by four masked gunmen searching for his missing younger brother is a reminder of the growing disregard for the rule of law among Nigerians. It represents a disturbing drift towards jungle justice amid worsening insecurity. Whatever grievance the assailants believed they had, they had no legal authority. The perpetrators must, therefore, be brought to book. The government must also strengthen people’s confidence in its ability to investigate crimes satisfactorily, so that no one needs to resort to self-help outside the boundaries of the legal system.

The victim, Oguntuase Ademola, was reportedly working on his farm in Ode-Ekiti when the armed men struck. They pummelled him with sticks, demanding information about the whereabouts of the younger brother. The attackers showed him a photograph of the missing man, threatening to kill him unless he revealed his brother’s location. Ademola informed investigators that he had neither seen nor communicated with his brother for more than four years after the latter travelled to Kaduna State in search of work. The family’s last information suggested that the brother fled Nigeria after surviving a bandit attack.

The brutality inflicted upon the hapless farmer reflects a trend that has recurred over decades. Across the country, individuals and mobs often assume the roles of judge and executioner. The recent killing of a student in Plateau State, where a young man was reportedly tortured to death on suspicion that he had stolen a mobile phone, is a case in point. Subsequent reports indicated that the allegation was unfounded and that the supposedly stolen phone was never recovered from him. However, irreversible injustice had already been done by the time the facts emerged. Humans are fallible and susceptible to being stripped of rationality by mere suspicion or rumour. Without proof, public anger is unleashed in the guise of justice.

Many Nigerians have become frustrated with the criminal justice system, with victims of crime frequently complaining that investigations drag on indefinitely. Suspects are released under circumstances that leave unanswered questions. In some cases, prosecutions collapse after years of delay, or case files disappear. In other instances, complainants lament that justice has been denied them as investigations end without assuring resolution. In the end, citizens lose whatever confidence they still have in the law and its enforcement institutions, and are encouraged to fend for themselves.

Weak policing and ineffective investigations indeed exist. Yet they must not legitimise violence. Institutional shortcomings must never become an excuse for citizens to inflict punishment upon one another. To tread this path is to risk descending into a situation where the strongest or the most heavily armed becomes the arbiter of guilt. Such an arrangement is incompatible with democracy and civilisation.

Torturing a farmer in Ekiti or a student in Plateau, or anywhere else in the country, is a grave assault on human dignity. It deliberately inflicts pain to extract information and has a tendency to produce unreliable information. Victims will most likely be inclined to say anything that would put a stop to their immediate suffering. Section 34 of the Nigerian Constitution guarantees every individual’s right to the dignity of the human person and prohibits torture as well as inhuman or degrading treatment. That protection is reinforced by the Anti-Torture Act, 2017, which criminalises torture and affirms Nigeria’s commitment to internationally recognised human rights standards.

The vulnerability of farming communities across many parts of Nigeria is becoming increasingly obvious, with kidnappings, violent intimidation, extortion and attacks. Fearful farmers are forced to choose between cultivating fewer hectares, abandoning their lands or relocating altogether. Reduced agricultural activity inevitably leads to food shortages and rising prices. If the government is to boost efforts at national food security, it must prioritise securing rural communities both as a policing obligation and an economic necessity.

The police are said to have commenced investigations into the Ekiti incident. The response is welcome. Nigerians have witnessed the announcement of investigations only to see them disappear from public consciousness. This case must not be allowed to suffer such a fate. The perpetrators should be identified. Investigators should determine the possible motivations for the assault. Questions about how the assailants located the victim and whether they received assistance from local collaborators should not be left unanswered.

Public confidence flows from consistent evidence that crimes are investigated and offenders are brought before the courts. This is only possible where institutions are deliberately empowered to discharge their constitutional obligations and discourage vigilantism. Criminal investigations cannot achieve significant results without adequate personnel, reliable intelligence gathering and modern technology. Victims deserve regular updates on the progress of investigations; otherwise, prolonged silence will continue to fuel suspicion, frustration and the temptation to illegally speed up the wheels of justice. Rural policing also demands greater attention through improved patrols and community engagement.

Every Nigerian must reject the assumption of powers reserved for lawful authorities. Two wrongs never make a right. While the instinct to avenge wrongdoing or compel information through violence may appear attractive, it invariably results in greater injustice. Communities become trapped in vicious cycles of revenge from which extrication is difficult. Individuals suspected of serious crimes retain the right to lawful investigation and a fair trial. The rule of law demands it, and citizens must insist that this remains the norm.

More than an isolated violent encounter on a farm, the Ekiti farmer’s ordeal restates the decades-old question about the kind of society Nigeria envisages. If it is to remain a constitutional democracy, then it must be emphasised that this model of governance forbids private individuals from investigating, interrogating or punishing fellow citizens on the basis of personal suspicion. In Ekiti, the victim was a farmer whose only apparent offence was having a missing brother. In Plateau State, it was a student falsely accused of theft. Somewhere across the country, anyone could be the next.

It is time the government improved the quality and speed of criminal investigations so that justice is seen to be effective and credible. Citizens, in turn, must resist every impulse towards jungle justice. The authority to investigate crime, determine guilt and impose punishment belongs exclusively to institutions established by law. Once that principle is abandoned, no Nigerian can truly regard himself or herself as safe.