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Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu has directed commissioners of police across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to treat every case of mob action as homicide and investigate it accordingly.
Disu gave the directive in a video shared on the official X handle of the Nigeria Police Force, as he ordered a nationwide crackdown on jungle justice and other forms of mob violence.
The IGP warned that no community, vigilante group or association has the legal authority to arrest, try, convict or execute anyone based on suspicion, allegations, rumours, photographs or social media evidence.
“Jungle justice is murder. It is not justice. It is a crime, and the Nigeria Police Force will treat it as such. It is illegal.
“Nigeria operates under the rule of law, not mob rule. No citizen, no community, no group has the right to try, sentence or execute another person,” Disu said.
He said the 1999 Constitution guarantees every Nigerian, including suspects, the rights to life, dignity and fair hearing, stressing that mob action violates those fundamental rights.
“Sections 33, 34 and 36 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, have guarantees for every Nigerian, even a suspect, the right to life, dignity and fair hearing.
“Mob action violates the victim’s right to life, to dignity and to a fair hearing.”
Disu also warned that anyone who kills a suspected criminal could face a murder charge, while those who plan, incite or support mob attacks could be held criminally liable.
“The punishment is severe, and it will be enforced. Anybody who assaults or summarily executes a suspected criminal is guilty of murder, which is punishable by death,” he said.
“Section 319 of the Criminal Code and section 221 of the Penal Code are very clear about this. Any person who unlawfully kills another person is guilty of murder or manslaughter, depending on the circumstances.”
The police chief further warned that people who mobilise mobs or encourage attacks could face prosecution even if they did not physically participate in the killing.
“Anybody who plans, incites or encourages the mob by giving them support, even without laying a hand on the victim, is criminally liable.”
“Those who merely share, who support the acts, can be charged with conspiracy or will be charged with conspiracy to murder, and this carries 14 years’ imprisonment.”
Disu cited the March 2025 killing of 16 travellers in Uromi, Edo State, as an example of the deadly consequences of mob justice, noting that similar attacks had occurred over unverified allegations involving suspected theft, blasphemy and ritual activities.
“I have directed all commissioners of police across the 36 states of Nigeria and the FCT to treat every case of mob action as homicide, and they should investigate it like that,” Disu said.
“Full forensic and intelligence follow-up, no exception. We will identify, listen, arrest and prosecute not just the ringleaders but everybody available, everybody we can identify who took part in it.”
He said investigators would use video recordings, eyewitness accounts, community intelligence and forensic evidence to identify those involved, adding that police officers could also be held accountable for failing to intervene when mob attacks occur.
