The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has raised the alarm over what it describes as Nigeria’s rapid descent into mob rule, warning that the country’s constitutional order is being steadily replaced by jungle justice as lynch mobs increasingly assume the roles of police, prosecutors and judges.
In a strongly worded statement on Wednesday by its national Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, the rights group said the growing wave of public lynchings, torture, sexual violence and extrajudicial killings across the country signals a dangerous erosion of the rule of law, insisting that swift prosecution of perpetrators has become imperative to halt what it called “criminal anarchy.”
HURIWA cited recent incidents in Plateau, Enugu and Rivers states, arguing that they reflect a disturbing national pattern in which suspects are brutalised, stripped, sexually assaulted and, in some cases, killed before any investigation or judicial process can take place.
The organisation expressed particular outrage over the reported killing of Ibrahim Mbaya, a University of Jos graduate and model, who allegedly died after being attacked by a mob over accusations of stealing a mobile phone.
It also referenced the alleged torture and repeated sexual assault of a woman in Enugu State who reportedly fled years of domestic abuse, as well as the public stripping and sexual humiliation of a female suspect accused of belonging to a “one-chance” robbery syndicate in Rivers State before security operatives intervened.
HURIWA stressed that no allegation of theft, robbery or any other offence can justify torture, rape or extrajudicial execution.
“The Constitution guarantees every Nigerian the right to fair hearing and the presumption of innocence. No mob has the constitutional authority to investigate, prosecute, convict or execute another citizen,” the organisation said.
The rights group warned that the increasing tendency of crowds to record acts of torture and circulate them on social media reflects a dangerous collapse of societal values and growing indifference to human suffering.
It called on the Inspector-General of Police to issue nationwide operational directives for the immediate arrest and prosecution of everyone identified in videos participating in lynchings, public torture and sexual assaults.
HURIWA also urged the Attorneys-General of the Federation and the states to ensure that suspects arrested over such incidents are diligently prosecuted, warning against abandoning cases after public outrage subsides.
The organisation further appealed to the National Assembly and state legislatures to strengthen laws against mob violence, torture and extrajudicial punishment, while urging traditional rulers, religious leaders and community groups to intensify public enlightenment against jungle justice.
Warning that Nigeria stands at a dangerous crossroads, HURIWA said allowing mob violence to flourish would amount to institutionalising a system where “the loudest crowd becomes judge, jury and executioner.”
It maintained that the fight against crime cannot be won through lawlessness, insisting that justice delivered outside the legal process is itself a crime and urging authorities to act decisively before more innocent lives are lost.