A security advocacy group, the Security Situation Room (SSR), has backed the Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Mr Olatunji Disu’s directive to treat jungle justice as homicide.
The group described mob action as an invitation to anarchy, saying perpetrators of extra-judicial killings must be held accountable for their actions.
The President of SSR, Mr Douglas Ogbankwa, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview that the directive was timely, considering the spate of mob attacks and extra-judicial killings in the country.
“Of course, this directive is timely. Allowing people to resort to strong-arm tactics in solving criminal activities is an invitation to anarchy.
“It is like taking the country to the Hobbesian state of nature, where life was nasty, brutish and short,” he said.
Ogbankwa said the existence of government could be traced to the social contract theory, under which citizens surrendered certain liberties to enable constituted authorities to govern and protect them.
He said allowing individuals to take the law into their hands would undermine the purpose of government and the rule of law.
“The reason we have a government is traceable to the social contract theory, where the people agree to have people who will govern, protect them and take care of their welfare.
“So, if individuals are allowed to have the liberty of taking the law into their hands, then that is simply taking us to the Stone Age without laws,” he said.
The convener noted that every society was governed by laws, adding that the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) provided lawful avenues for resolving grievances.
He said the Police Act 2020 empowered the police to detect and investigate crimes and arrest those suspected of committing offences within their jurisdiction.
Ogbankwa consequently called for strict adherence to the I-G’s directive, adding that individuals must learn to be personally accountable for their actions or inactions.
NAN reports that Disu directed Commissioners of Police across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to treat cases of jungle justice as homicide.
Disu gave the directive on Wednesday while speaking on a live television programme on African Independent Television (AIT).
The police boss condemned the growing incidence of mob attacks and extra-judicial killings across the country, describing jungle justice as murder and a violation of victims’ fundamental rights.
He consequently directed the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators of jungle justice.
NAN reports that Disu noted that Sections 33, 34 and 36 of the 1999 Constitution guarantee every Nigerian, including suspects, the rights to life, dignity and a fair hearing.
He added that no individual or group had the authority to determine the guilt of a suspect, as the law presumes every person innocent until proven guilty by a competent court.
Also speaking with NAN, a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Ademola Owolabi of Adetokunbo Ademola Chambers, Apapa, backed the directive, saying it was legally justified.
Owolabi said the law was certain but not static, adding that it was a dynamic organ that must adapt to changes in society.
According to him, homicide presupposes mens rea (guilty mind) and actus reus (guilty act), noting that jungle justice might not easily fit the premeditated essence of murder.
He, however, said the theory of law was that a person intended the natural consequences of his actions.
“If a mob chased an alleged thief, tied tyres around his neck and set him on fire, resulting in his death, they intended to kill him.
“Similarly, where planks were used to beat an alleged thief and death occurred, it is obvious that the intention was to kill,” he said.
Owolabi, therefore, said the I-G was right in directing the police to treat cases of jungle justice as homicide.
He, however, urged the police to embrace forensic investigation to strengthen the prosecution of such cases.
According to him, cases should not be charged to court solely on the basis of confessional statements, particularly where such statements appeared to have been obtained through coercion.
He said where there was evidence that a mob caught an alleged criminal but refused to hand him over to the police, members of the mob could be charged with homicide. (NAN)
Tags: Jungle Justice
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