Amnesty International Nigeria has condemned the growing wave of mob violence and “jungle justice” in northern Nigeria, describing the violent siege of a court in Katsina State as a dangerous assault on the rule of law and the country’s justice system.
The rights organisation expressed concern over Wednesday’s incident in the Kofar Soro area of Katsina town, where a large crowd, made up largely of children and young men armed with dangerous weapons, surrounded a court and demanded the extrajudicial execution of a defendant standing trial over an allegation of blasphemy.
According to Amnesty International, the incident represents a disturbing trend of increasing lawlessness and disregard for due legal process, warning that Nigeria is governed by the rule of law, not mob justice.
The organisation noted that the Katsina incident occurred barely 10 days after a mob allegedly burned to death Ummulkhairi, a teacher and mother of five, in Mararabar Jos, Kaduna State, following unsubstantiated accusations of attempting to abduct children.
Amnesty International said both incidents underscore the dangers of citizens taking the law into their own hands, stressing that every accused person, regardless of the nature of the allegations, is constitutionally entitled to a fair trial.
It described the spectacle of children and young people marching through the streets armed with machetes, spears, iron rods, sledgehammers, broken bottles, daggers, bows and arrows, and knives while chanting for the death of a suspect as deeply alarming and a serious threat to due process and public safety.
The organisation further lamented that children and youths who should be in school or engaged in vocational training were instead participating in acts capable of undermining the justice system and promoting violence.
Amnesty International called on the Katsina State Government and security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the court siege and ensure that all individuals responsible for inciting or participating in the mob action are identified and prosecuted.
It maintained that lasting justice can only be achieved through adherence to the rule of law, insisting that violence, intimidation and extrajudicial actions have no place in a democratic society.
