Reps move to curb mob killings

The House of Representatives has called on Nigeria Police Force to investigate the spate of jungle justice and mob killings across the country and prosecute perpetrators of such acts.

This was sequel to a unanimous adoption of a motion by Rep. Ezekiel Adaji (Benue-PDP) at the plenary on Wednesday.

Moving the motion earlier, Adaji had pointed out that democracy which Nigeria operated was anchored on respect for the rule of law.

He said that democracy was also predicated on constitutionalism, order, justice and fairness.

The legislator said that the Nigerian law had adequate provisions that empowered law enforcement agencies to enforce and implement all laws.

He said that the idea was to make the country orderly and to ensure the fundamental human rights of citizens as enshrined in the Constitution and other international laws were respected.

According to him, mob killings and jungle justice are the consequences of failure of criminal justice, the failure of society to apply uniform and equal standards.

Adaji said that irrational human instincts and impulses, and the failure of criminal justice institutions and agencies to prevent its occurrence were equally responsible.

He blamed the situation on the failure of relevant institutions to punish those engaged in the heinous practices.

The lawmaker said that some people across the country who had suffered from one crime or the other now accepted lynching or mob justice as the best model to exert their vengeance.

He said that this had rendered the law enforcement agencies in the country ineffective.

The legislator expressed concern over the recent loss of innocent lives as a result of an upsurge in the spate of extra-judicial killings.

Referring to a report of Amnesty International, he put the figure of victims of mob justice from January 1 to March 31, 2018 at 29.

He said that incessant application of mob attacks targeting crime suspects may have gained motivation from the criminal practice of extra-judicial killings by virtually all the law enforcement agencies in the country.

According to the lawmaker, the police are principally most guilty of employing such crude tactics as extra-judicial execution of suspects of crime in their custody which had become a widely tolerated practice.

For the health and safety of the society, he recommended that those who felt they were above the law were made to face the full weight of the law.

He said that eradicating mob actions or jungle justice was necessary in eliminating the chance of Nigeria witnessing impunity and anarchy in the society.

In his ruling, the Speaker of the house, Mr Yakubu Dogara, mandated the Committees on Police Affairs, Federal Judiciary and Justice to ensure full compliance with the resolution.