Jungle justice can simply be said to be the outright disregard of the law or when angry mob carry out punishment on an alleged offender without proper taking him or her to the necessary authority.
Background
I was going through a popular daily in Lagos and I saw the horrific picture of an alleged rapist and robber stone killed. It was said that he has constantly been terrorizing the area for close to two years with no immediate solution found. At the beginning of this year, he was caught and handed over to the authority. But what enraged the community was that in two days he was spotted walking freely in the vicinity without hindrance. What went wrong?
Jungle Justices Encouragement
In a society where crime and bad vices are the order of the day, people are constantly pushed to the wall and will fight back. Even when a goat is pushed to the wall, it ultimately fights back.
When the majority of citizens lose confidence in the security agencies and in the criminal justice places put together by the government of the day, jungle justice is bound to happen.
The security agencies saddled with the responsibility of protection of lives have developed inertia to the constant response and cries of distress by the citizens, what do you expect?
The apparent slow dissemination of justice to violent criminals. People who feel aggrieved that they are being cheated by the justice will feel they have no one to help apart from themselves.
The silence of most religious leaders on the issue of prevalent crimes in the society. A lot of citizens look up to their religious leaders for guidance and advice, and these leaders seem to be after church growth than peace in the nation.
A Popular cliché says that an idle hand is the devil’s workshop. The high rate of unemployment in the country is a facilitator for the growth of jungle justice. People that have nothing to do, are at liberty to vent their frustration on perceived criminals
Consequences of Jungle justice
Innocent lives are lost
Jungle justice is known to claim the lives of innocent people. The case of the four young students that were killed at the University Of Port Harcourt cannot be forgotten.
Bad Reputation
Jungle justice depicts a society filled with lawlessness, and this is bad public relations of a sovereign country. How a country is perceived is important when trading and economic matter sis have been discussed, if you are viewing has a country where the law is disregarded, then investors will flee.
Encourages Internal war
It encourages reprisal attack by hoodlums who feel their colleagues have been killed by members of a community. They come back to where the act is being done and avenge their fury on them. Innocent lives are also lost during this reprisal attack.
Criminals Breeding
It is a breeding ground for vigilante groups who later turn to harm the community. The case of the OPC, Egbesu boys and the Bakassi boys are a good example for all to see. These groups emerged when crime climbed to a very alarming rate. These group receive so much power to combat this crime. Hence, after getting over the occurrence of this crime, they started to indulge in frivolous and questionable activities. It was the case of the builder of the house who now become the destroyer. These vigilante groups are now tools for the politicians during the election period. They are instruments to strike fear in the hearts of their opponents.
Conclusion
We can not over emphasize the call to put an end the vermin of Jungle Justice. Because, it has given birth to untold pain, agony and hardship to the ordinary citizens of the country. Whereas, no one has the right to take the life of another. Let us all exercise restraints in our dealings because if we continue to throw stones into the market, one day it will hit a known relative. Be wise.
