50 Nigerians killed yearly in mob violence, jungle justice – Amnesty International

From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar

Barbara Magaji, the Programmes Manager for Amnesty International, says an average of 50 lives are lost in Nigeria due to mob violence and jungle justice.

She disclosed this in Calabar during a Campaign Walk against jungle justice, which was themed: Ending Mob Violence in our Communities.

She said this follows a ten-year research on mob violence in the six geopolitical zones, which shows that over 555 lives were lost to mob attacks.

“We conducted research for a period of two years, documenting situations that happened across the country for a period of eleven years from 2012 to 2023.

“We found that over 555 people died as a result of mob violence, meaning every year an average of 50 people die.

“The causes include allegations of witchcraft, allegations of stealing in a public space. Most times, people are killed without the allegations being proven”, she said.

She stressed that jungle justice is not justice, and Nigerians should not take the laws into their hands.

She also tasked the justice actors to ensure that cases are properly determined so they people can trust the system.

Also speaking, the Director General of the National Orientation Agency, NOA, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, called on Nigerians to do the right thing.

The Director General, who was represented by the Cross River State director of the NOA, John Asanye, called for attitudinal reorientation, saying the NOA will work with Amnesty International to effect change in this regard.