A COALITION of Non Governmental Organizations is set to launch a campaign against jungle justice that is daily gaining ground in the country and across Africa.
The coalition comprising Devatop Center for Africa Development, Cleen Foundation and other civil society organisations said plans are on to organise a mass sensitization of Nigerians against unlawful killings of criminal suspects.
At a stakeholders meeting held in Abuja on Wednesday, Chairman, Cleen Foundation, Benson Olugbou stated that the idea of jungle justice was borne out of the demand of the people for justice due to failure of government to uphold its duty and responsibility to the citizen.
Olugbou explained that the campaign against jungle justice is aimed at reminding the government of its primary objective of securing lives and properties of every Nigerian.
“It increases lawlessness if people can just wake up and start to kill each other and it appears to show that there is failure of governance,” he said.
He lamented that there have been continued cases of jungle justice and extra-judicial killings in Nigeria, making reference to the recent killing of suspected one chance drivers in Abuja by angry mob.
Speaking on the need for the campaign, Osuigwe Joseph, chairman of Devatop Center for Africa Development, stated that jungle justice has so far been under reported in Nigeria.
Joseph stressed the need for synergy between stakeholders to curb jungle justice in the country.
According to him, the planned campaign would be held to commemorate the International Human Rights Day.
While speaking on the rationale behind ‘Red Card’, Joseph explained, “As used in football, the red card indicates dismissal of a footballer or player during a match, the red card is the same in the proposed campaign.”
James Ugochukwu, a representative of African Centre for Enterpreneurship and Information Development (ACEIDEV), lauded the campaign, stating that jungle justice seems to have become an African culture.
Ugochukwu referred to an incident of a military colonel in Ghana, who was seen jogging in an unfamiliar terrain with his holstered pistol asking for directions but was presumed to be a thief by members of the neighborhood who beat him to death.
This incident, he said reinforces the need to curb the spread of jungle justice across Africa, noting that if such fate could befall a military personnel, it could happen to anyone.
Goziem Onugha from Lawyers Alert stated that the issue of jungle justice is a circle stressing that those who carry out jungle justice are angry and feel the police is not doing enough.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94