A Lagos-based lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, has decried the rise in the application of jungle justice in the country and said Nigerians must stop taking laws into their hands at the slightest provocation.
Effiong, who is also a human right activist, said citizens must learn to seek for justice in the courts.

He stressed that people should be civilised in seeking justice and avoid actions that would turn them to criminals.

“Nigerian must believe in the criminal justice system by handing over criminals to security agencies for proper investigation and prosecution,’’ Effiong said.

He however said the courts must be swift and thorough in dispensing justice, so that criminals were not allowed to go scot free.

The lawyer said allowing people who had done clear cases of injustice to others, often fuel sentiments that push people to take laws into their hands.

“That is why when kidnappers are caught people resort to their own kind of justice by killing or carrying out mob action without subjecting the individual to the rigours of the criminal justice system.

“We need to ensure that there is no impunity in the country and until impunity is taken out, you cannot really stop jungle justice.

“This does not justify the resort to jungle justice, jungle justice is never justice.

According to him, those who engage in jungle justice most often target innocent people, citing recent case of a commuter in Ikorodu, Lagos, who was lynched by a mob on suspicion of being a member of Badoo cult group, but was later discovered to be a responsible citizen.

“Nigerians should learn to allow the criminal justice system to run its course, so that suspected criminals could be given fair hearing in a court of competent jurisdiction,’’ Effiong stressed.

He added, “I appreciate the frustration of Nigerians in the system, and we cannot close our eyes to it or pretend that the system is effective, when there is a systemic failure there will always be a reaction on the part of the people who are aggrieved.

“The best thing to do, however, is to hand over the suspected criminal and ensure the case is prosecuted; the criminal justice system is more profitable to the society in the long run.