The culture of jungle justice and mob attacks on suspected criminals in Nigeria without recourse to law enforcement and judicial process remains a source of concern as the practice continues unchecked. SILVER NWOKORO reports that this devastating development is a symbol of a seemingly failed legal system.

Nigeria, recently, witnessed a disturbing resurgence in acts of jungle justice, a crude system where suspected criminals are brutally attacked or killed by mobs without recourse to the law. Reports of people being lynched over theft accusations, perceived witchcraft, or petty offences continue to reverberate, revealing a society struggling with trust in its formal justice system.

State governments, civil society organisations, and religious leaders have launched campaigns to promote the rule of law and encourage citizens to report crimes rather than take direct action. However, it seems intractable. Instructively, without meaningful reforms in policing, judiciary efficiency, and public education, these efforts often amount to little more than lip service.

Instances of extant laws
The Constitution and the Criminal Code make provisions relating to the preservation of the sanctity of human life. Assault, torture and other forms of ill-treatment are prohibited under Section 34(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as altered), which provides that “every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person, and correspondingly, no one should be subjected to torture or cruel or degrading treatment.” Also, Section 17(2)(b) of the Constitution makes it mandatory to recognise, maintain and enhance the sanctity and human dignity of every person.

Nigeria also established the National Committee Against Torture (NCAT) on July 27, 2009, as part of its responsibility to establish national preventative procedures after signing and ratifying the CAT and the Optional Protocol to the CAT (OPCAT). The preamble of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017, penalises acts of torture and other ill-treatment. It prohibits the justification of torture and prescribes 25-year jail terms for persons found liable to have committed any of the acts outlined in the Act.

Also, section 33(1) of the Constitution guarantees everyone the right to life: It provides that every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life except in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria. Section 36(1) of the Constitution guarantees in all instances the right to a fair hearing, while Sections 34, 35, and 36 guarantee everyone’s right to liberty, justice, and human dignity.

Similarly, Section 8 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015 guarantees the right to humane treatment of arrested suspects. Section 8(1) of the ACJA provides that a suspect shall be accorded humane treatment, having regard to his right to the dignity of his person; and not be subjected to any form of torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, while Section 14(1) ACJA mandates that an arrested suspect must be taken immediately to the nearest police station.

In 2017, the Nigerian Senate passed a bill to prohibit and protect individuals from lynching, mob action, and extrajudicial executions. The bill, known as the “Prohibition and Protection of Persons from Lynching, Mob Action and Extra Judicial Executions Bill,” aims to provide statutory protection against these forms of violence. The bill covers instigating lynching, mob action resulting in severe bodily harm, and riotous assembly causing property destruction. Punishments for instigating these offences include life imprisonment or at least 25 years, while security officers failing to prevent or apprehend perpetrators face imprisonment or fines.

The bill prohibits and protects individuals from lynching, mob action resulting in severe bodily harm, and extrajudicial executions. Regrettably, that bill was not signed into law and has since been abandoned.

Despite these laws, lynching of suspected citizens has refused to abate. On March 28, 2025, in Uromi, Edo State, a mob brutally killed 16 northern Nigerian travelers, after local vigilantes accused them of being kidnappers. The victims were intercepted, found with local rifles, and without any legal proceedings, killed and set them ablaze. This atrocity sparked national outrage and highlighted deep-seated ethnic tensions and the dangers of mob justice.

Another one happened in Misau, Bauchi state, in August 2024, where two suspected armed robbers were arrested by police for allegedly killing a motorcycle operator. However, an irate mob overpowered the police, seized the suspects, and burned them to death. The Bauchi State Police Command condemned the act, emphasising that such extrajudicial killings undermine the rule of law.

In November 2024, an unidentified man, suspected of burglary, was lynched by an angry mob in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. His corpse was later found along Olu Obasanjo Road. Police investigations suggested he was a notorious thief in the area. The Rivers State Police Command warned against mob actions.

In October 2023, in Calabar, Cross River State, a middle-aged man was lynched by a mob at Ikot Ansa Bus Stop after being caught allegedly breaking into an apartment. Eyewitnesses claimed the suspect had been disturbing the peace of the area.

Lawyers express concerns
Expressing sadness over jungle justice, a lawyer, Chinwike Ezebube, decried the growing incidences of jungle justice in Nigerian society, attributing its prevalence to systemic flaws within the criminal justice system.

According to Ezebube, while justice is fundamentally a natural right of every human being, its definition and application are largely regulated by law. He noted that what society often regards as justice may diverge significantly from its legal interpretation.

“Self-help is not permissible under the law, yet it has become the preferred avenue for many due to its accessibility and perceived effectiveness compared to the formal judicial process,” he stated

Ezebube identified two core reasons individuals resort to jungle justice: the ease and immediacy it offers, and widespread distrust in the judiciary. He expressed concern that the existing legal system, plagued by delays, corruption, and undue influence, has lost public confidence, thereby fueling alternative and illegal means of redress.

“Justice delayed is justice denied, and when the courts are slow, inconsistent, or susceptible to external pressures, people will take the law into their own hands,” he noted. He referenced Section 36(4) of the Constitution, which guarantees every person charged with a criminal offence the right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time.

Jungle justice, he said, fundamentally violates this constitutional right by denying alleged offenders the opportunity to defend themselves before impartial courts.

“Punishments meted out under jungle justice are not sanctioned by any legal framework and can never be justified, regardless of the inefficiencies in our system,” Ezebube stressed. He called for urgent reforms to ensure the justice system is transparent, consistent, and expeditious.

According to him, restoring public trust in institutions like the police and the judiciary is key to curbing the rising tide of extrajudicial punishments. “If citizens can have even a modicum of faith in the system, the recourse to jungle justice will drastically decline,” he said.

Also, President of the Admiralty Lawyers Society of Nigeria (ALSN), Mr. Angus Obinna Chukwuka, condemned the disturbing trend, describing it as a dangerous form of retribution that undermines the principles of fairness, truth, and the rule of law.

He explained that jungle justice is a system of retribution or punishment meted out to people without adherence to the tenets of fairness or truth. He described it as a roguish way of ministering justice such that the outcome is injustice. According to him, the practice thrives largely because the rule of law is often ignored. “Injustice results because the rule of law is suppressed and is not applied to the situations in question,” he said.

Chukwuka identified several factors contributing to the prevalence of jungle justice. He noted that some individuals are practically above the law and stronger than our institutions, allowing them to manhandle others without consequence. He further criticised the judicial system for being too slow and clumsy, citing prolonged court proceedings, endless adjournments, and administrative inefficiency.

“Those who seek justice through the courts stay so long due to unnecessary delays. This discourages many serious-minded people and forces them to resort to self-help, which itself is a form of jungle justice,” he said.

The cost of legal proceedings, he argued, also contributes to the preference for jungle justice. “The court system is becoming unbearably expensive. Jungle justice is cheaper, so people resort to killing or maiming their opponents, provided they can get away with it.”

Chukwuka also pointed out that the decline in moral standards, poor family upbringing, rising drug abuse, cultism, and gangsterism all combined to fuel the menace.

“People are no longer driven by what is just but by what they want. Many youths, influenced by drugs and gangs, now have little regard for human life,” he said.

He emphasised the role of family in shaping individuals. “Poor family upbringing is a big problem. People are not impacted with the right values during their formative years and grow up to become miscreants who see jungle justice as normal.” To curb the menace, Chukwuka called for a holistic reform of the nation’s institutions.

“We must strengthen our institutions. Everyone must be under the law – no sacred cows. People should be punished according to the law,” he said.
He advocated a complete overhaul of law enforcement agencies and placing square pegs in square holes at the helm of affairs of those agencies. Additionally, he tasked the authorities to discourage self-help by prosecuting offenders as well as embarking on reforms that will ensure speedier and more efficient dispensation of justice.

Another lawyer, Kanzullahi Hibatullahi, said persistent rise of jungle justice in Nigeria is strongly linked to economic hardship and systemic failures within the justice system.

Hibatullahi stressed that lack of economic prosperity is the leading factor driving desperate actions, both from alleged offenders and citizens who take the law into their own hands.

“When people are unable to afford necessities, when hunger becomes widespread, and transportation costs are unbearable, it breeds a desperate population. In such a climate, theft and petty crimes become rampant, and the same frustration drives others to mete out mob justice in place of lawful punishment,” he explained. He noted that in a country where citizens are already grappling with survival, the sight of a person stealing even petty articles can provoke severe anger.

“You’ll hear people say, ‘even though I’m suffering, I’m not stealing, so why should you?’ Anger leads to lynching, beatings, and sometimes, burning suspects alive,” he added.

Proffering solutions, Hibatullahi called on the government to focus on policies that directly impact the average citizen. “The government needs to make the economy work not just for the elite or investors, but for everyday Nigerians who need to eat three meals a day without undue stress.”

Besides the economic issues, Hibatullahi also identified Nigeria’s failing justice system as a critical driver of jungle justice. According to him, the slow pace of criminal trials and rampant corruption within the police and judiciary contribute to public distrust.

“Criminal cases drag on for years, and in most instances, justice is never served. This leads to a situation where people prefer to take justice into their own hands rather than rely on a broken system.

“Again, Nigeria’s justice system is under-resourced. Judges are overworked, police officers lack training and motivation, and critical processes are not digitised, making it easy for criminals to evade justice,” he said. Hibatullahi also mentioned growing ethnic and religious polarisation, illiteracy, and public ignorance of civic systems as compounding factors.

“In a deeply divided society, suspicion and ethnic profiling can easily escalate into mob action. And when people don’t understand how justice works or believe it will fail them, they resort to violent alternatives,” he noted.

He stated that resolving jungle justice will require a comprehensive approach, including strengthening the economy, modernising the justice system, improving civic education, and addressing national unity.

“Fix the root problems, hunger, broken systems, ignorance and jungle justice will reduce drastically,” he affirmed.