jungle justice

{{Short description|Form of extrajudicial punishment or killing}}

Jungle justice (also known as mob justice or street justice) is a form of extrajudicial punishment carried out by angry mobs or vigilante groups against individuals accused of crimes.[https://books.google.com/books?id=drCQBAAAQBAJ&dq=jungle+justice+cameroon&pg=PA119 Cameroon's predicament, Peter Tse Angwafo, p 119][http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8021468.stm Nigeria's vigilante 'jungle justice', BBC News][http://answersafrica.com/jungle-justice-a-vicious-violation-of-human-rights-in-africa.html Jungle Justice: A Vicious Violation if Human Rights in Africa, Amara Onu]{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The attacks involve the public humiliation, physical assault, or summary execution of the accused without any form of legal trial. Treatment can vary from a "muddy treatment" (where the alleged criminal is forced to roll in mud for hours) to severe torture followed by execution — victims may killed by beating, immolation, necklacing, or stoning.{{cite web |title=Cable thief given muddy treatment in Anambra (Graphic Photos) {{!}} Pulse Nigeria |url=https://www.pulse.ng/articles/gist/jungle-justice-cable-thief-given-muddy-treatment-in-anambra-graphic-photos-2024080223521690534 |website=Pulse Africa |access-date=11 May 2025 |language=en}} While the term "jungle justice" is used across West and Central Africa to describe mob-led extrajudicial punishment, it is commonly studied and documented in Nigeria and Cameroon.{{cite journal |last1=Shodunke |first1=Aliu Oladimeji |last2=Oladipupo |first2=Sodiq Abiodun |last3=Alabi |first3=Mubarak Olawale |last4=Akindele |first4=Ayobami Habeeb |title=Establishing the nexus among mob justice, human rights violations and the state: Evidence from Nigeria |journal=International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice |date=March 2023 |volume=72 |pages=100573 |doi=10.1016/j.ijlcj.2022.100573 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756061622000519 |access-date=11 May 2025}}

This form of street justice is typically a response to perceived failures in formal justice systems, particularly in regions where law enforcement is seen as corrupt, ineffective, or absent.{{cite web |last1=Luke |first1=Nneka |title=When the mob rules: jungle justice in Africa |url=https://www.dw.com/en/when-the-mob-rules-jungle-justice-in-africa/a-19426438 |website=Deutsche Welle |access-date=11 May 2025 |language=en}} For example, in Nigeria and Cameroon, jungle justice has grown increasingly prevalent due to public frustration with systemic police inefficiency, long delays in court proceedings, and widespread impunity for criminals."[https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-modern-african-studies/article/the-bakassi-boys-fighting-crime-in-nigeria/B0010CE5758024660AFCDA7DFAF76C2A The Bakassi Boys: fighting crime in Nigeria, Johannes Harnischfeger, The Journal of Modern African Studies][http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/23188500/human-security-problem-jungle-mob-justice-cameroon Human Security and the Problem of Jungle (Mob) Justice in Cameroon, Samah, 2006]{{dead link|date=November 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite web |title=Nigeria: Instantly killed! How law enforcement failures exacerbate Nigeria’s wave of mob violence |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr44/8425/2024/en/ |website=Amnesty International |access-date=11 May 2025 |language=en |date=28 October 2024}} Common "offenses" that trigger mob justice include blasphemy, child abduction, petty theft, and witchcraft, with many attacks related to disputes that escalate through rumor and misinformation.

Notable examples of jungle justice include the 2012 killing of the Aluu Four — four university students in Rivers State who were falsely accused of theft before being tortured and burned alive; the 2021 lynching of 16-year-old Anthony Okpahefufe and two other boys in Cross River State over an unproven allegation of stealing; and the murder of sound engineer David Imoh in Lagos in 2022 after he attempted to mediate a dispute between Okada riders. In addition to those accused of criminal acts, others have been targeted largely based on their identity or beliefs: Deborah Samuel Yakubu was brutally killed by her classmates in Sokoto after being accused of blasphemy in 2022; Martina Okey Itagbor was tortured and burned to death in Cross River State after being labeled a witch in 2023; and Talle Mai Ruwa, a man with a mental health condition, was dragged from a police station and set ablaze by a mob in Bauchi State for alleged blasphemy.