Jungle Justice Is No Justice

Jungle justice has become gradually, a part of our societal ills.
Almost on a daily basis in Nigeria, someone is killed through jungle justice.
It is an extrajudicial killing that ordinarily, would have no place in civilized societies, but which we have welcomed as a normal way of punishing 'innocent' criminals.
The law stipulates that an accused person is deemed innocent until otherwise proven to be guilty in a competent court of law.
Also, it is an offence to take the life of another, without it being the order of a court of law.
People carry out jungle justice for several reasons. One if them is the non-challance and inadequacies of the police force. The force on several occasions, carries out shoddy investigations when apprehended criminals are handed over to them. This enables the criminals to get back into town without having been adequately prosecuted.
This has over time, enraged locals and they have lost faith in the police force. They now prefer to mete out punishments to apprehended criminals themselves before the police would let them go on flimsy grounds and they would come back to continue terrorizing the community.
This of course, has its disadvantages and they sure outweigh the advantages.
Many innocent people have been lynched by irate mobs over mere allegations of criminal activities. No one bothers to investigate the said crime or even hear the sides of the accused. To them, once accused, you are deemed guilty and the punishment is death.,
They stone some to death, beat others with clubs and sticks and even burn the rest!.
I have not ceased to wonder as to the kind of person that can simply put a tire tube around a fellow human's neck and douse the person with petrol before setting the person on fire.
Oh how hardened our hearts have become!
Jungle justice has now become a way of punishing enemies or competitors. Some people connive to accuse their enemies and competitors and have them killed for nothing.
I just think of how we have become so inhuman to our fellow humans and I just don't get it!!!.
People get killed for stealing little things now. You steal a cube of Maggie in the market and you can be sure to get lynched. You dare to take the goat of your neighbor and forget it, you are getting roasted alive.
Our society forgets easily. One day we are protesting loudly, and the next day we keep quiet and condone the horrible acts.
If you have forgotten, I have not!
I still remember vividly, the video of the Aluu 4 boys killed in Port-harcourt. Oh how tears flowed from my eyes from watching the video. I couldn't finish watching it, of course.
Should i talk about how a boy of twelve was also gruesomely lynched for being an alleged 'kidnapper'? Or should I talk about the man who stole a goat during Sallah and was tied to the goat. How about the guys stoned to death for snatching a cell phone? Or the recent one that happened in Ejigbo, Lagos where the women had pepper and sticks up their private parts after being accused of stealing a basket of peppers. I realized watching the video was a horrible mistake as it wrenched my heart out. My eyes felt like the raw pepper had been rubbed in them because of the hot tears that welled up in them.
What happened to having a voice of reason in the midst of chaos?
The people who watch and capture these horrible events are guilty of the crimes too because they simply watch and DO NOTHING!
We aid the jungle justice cause when we do nothing.
The police even aids jungle justice in many cases.
What happened to the force being responsible to the citizens and awake to its responsibilities, which are to protect the citizens and maintain law and order, amongst other things?
Our leaders sit and do nothing about it also, as they are also as guilty as those being called criminals. Their hustle is to amass enough wealth while in power.
Those voltrons too that parade themselves on social media as 'activists' will only hash tag the fight for days and after that, move on to the next loud fight.
The battle is ours to fight.
Let he who is without sin be the first to cast the stone.
Give accused people an opportunity to be duly tried before a competent court of law.
Stop Jungle Justice Today!