For weeks running, cases of jungle justice have escalated in Nigeria, with some citizens taking the law into their own hands to punish individuals suspected of committing crimes.
A number of Nigerians have suffered severe physical and emotional trauma, as suspects are subjected to torture, dehumanization, public humiliation and, in some cases, extrajudicial killing.
In many parts of the country, jungle justice is often triggered by allegations of theft, fraud, witchcraft, wrongful transactions and other perceived offences. In many instances, suspects are punished by angry mobs without being given the opportunity to defend themselves or prove their innocence.
One of the most disturbing aspects of the trend is the killing of innocent citizens over allegations of blasphemy.
In some cases, mere accusations that emanate as rumours are enough to trigger violent mob attacks, with victims losing their lives before the allegations against them could be properly investigated or tried in the court.
The situation has continued to raise concerns about the rule of law, public safety and the need for citizens to allow law enforcement agencies and the courts to investigate and determine cases of alleged criminality.
While several of these incidents remain largely underreported, those that have occurred in the public domain have sparked widespread concern.
According to Amnesty International, at least 363 cases of mob violence have been recorded across Nigeria in the last decade, with nearly 100 people killed.
EDGE ONLINE recalls a national tragedy that occurred on March 28, 2025 when about 16 northern hunters traveling from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to Kano State to celebrate Sallah, Eid al-Fitr were murdered in suspicion that they were terrorists.
A series of mob attacks and killings have been recorded in 2026, with disturbing video clips that captured suspects being subjected to severe humiliation, dehumanization and other forms of abuse after being accused of stealing from members of the public.
In some of those video clips, the suspects were being tortured and made to sing and dance to entertain the mob and for social media contents, which in turn, damages the reputation of the victims.
Oyo mob attack
On July 9, the Oyo State Police arrested at least four suspects in the Strabag area of Ojoo, Ibadan, following a mob action that escalated into a violent public disturbance.
The crisis began on 7 July, after four young men allegedly attempted to rob a Point of Sale, POS operator of his mobile phone while pretending to purchase mobile data.
One of the suspects, identified as Abeeb Olajide, was apprehended by an angry mob while the other three escaped.
Police said the suspect was brutally assaulted before officers rescued him and rushed him to a medical facility where he later died.
The Police Command said the incident sparked tension in the community as aggrieved groups allegedly mobilised for reprisal attacks, leading to a breakdown of law and order in parts of the Strabag axis with at least two others confirmed dead.
Lynching of motorcycle thief in Abuja
On March 19, a suspected motorcycle thief, identified as Haruna Yahuza also known as “Gwaska” was lynched by a mob along the Dafara-Gaube road in the Kuje Area Council of the FCT.
Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred after the suspect allegedly snatched a motorcycle near the community and attempted to escape with it.
The suspect and an accomplice had blocked the road and stabbed a cyclist before fleeing with the stolen bike. However, the attack immediately drew the attention of a growing mob.
According to reports, the bike owner, who was left in a pool of his blood, was able to identify the primary suspect, who was given a hot chase and was later killed by the mob.
Three persons lynched in Kaduna
On 21 June, 2026, one Ummulkhair Muhammad, an Islamic teacher, was lynched in Mararaban Jos, a community along the Kaduna-Zaria highway, after being falsely accused of attempting to kidnap children, an allegation Amnesty International described as a growing violence “becoming the norm nationwide.”
Before she was killed, Mrs Muhammad was reportedly taken to a police division in the community where a mob demanded that she be handed over to them.
The deceased’s husband , Aliyu Muhammad, in an interview with BBC Hausa, alleged that the Divisional Police Officer, DPO handed his wife to the mob who later killed her.
It was later gathered that the deceased, who was heading to a meeting in the area, missed her direction and was seeking help from residents when the mob attacked her.
Similarly, two innocent travellers who were mistaken for kidnappers by a mob in Gidan Kalu Village, Birnin Yero, a few kilometres from Maraban Jos in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State were killed.
The victims, identified as Muhammadu Sani and Aliyu Mohammed both from Umar Village in Igabi LGA, were travelling on a motorcycle to Tudun Wada, Zaria, on July 1 to visit their ailing uncle when they were attacked and killed by a mob.
According to the police, residents became suspicious after seeing the pair riding a new motorcycle and raised the alarm by shouting “thieves.”
UNIJOS graduate tortured to death
On 26 July, a Jos-based model and University of Jos graduate, Ibrahim Mbaya, popularly known as “Ibee” was killed in Jos, the Plateau State capital, after a mob beat him over an alleged phone theft.
Still and motion pictures of the assault recently circulated on all social media platforms.
According to the Plateau State Police Command, about five persons have been arrested for their various roles in the extrajudicial killing.
When contacted by EDGE ONLINE at the weekend, the Police Public Relations Officer of the command, Alfred Alabo said other suspects were still at large.
Asked what was the update on those arrested and those still on the run, Alabo simply said “if there is any update, we will make it available via our Facebook page”.
False alarms
Reports indicate that several victims of mob violence have later been found to be innocent of the allegations levelled against them.
Earlier this year, a woman was attacked by a mob at the International Market in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, following a false alarm.
The woman was accused of abducting three children and was subjected to severe assault by the mob.
However, preliminary investigations later revealed that the children are her neighbours.
In an interview with EDGE ONLINE on Sunday, an Abuja resident, Mrs Alice Oche, who escaped a mob attack in July this year, recounted how she was nearly lynched after being accused of making a fake bank transfer.
She said, “I went to the Bwari market on July 18 and I was busy buying things.
“You know how crowded the market is, especially on market days. Only for someone to tap me on the back and start screaming and making allegations.
“I thought it was a prank. She claimed that I bought something about N31,000 from her and that I made a fake transfer. She was talking and shouting and before you knew what was happening, people started gathering.
“I tried to let this woman know that I was not the one. In fact, I had not gone to that market for a very long time so it was definitely not me. Again, I usually go with cash because not everybody accepts transfers, so that couldn’t have been me.
“While I was explaining, she was dragging me and calling me a thief. The bike people were already gathering so I became very scared. Some of them were already shouting ‘thief thief’.
“At that time, there was nothing I could do anymore. Thank God I just entered the market and I had about N50,000 in my bag. Out of fear I asked her how much the money was and she said N31,000. I had to give her that money and leave the market immediately.
“That was how God saved me. The question is, what if I had used the money I was having in my bag. What if there was nothing on me? Maybe I would have been lynched”.
Slow justice, corruption reason for jungle justice – Analyst
Mr Damion Uko, a public affairs analyst, attributed the ugly trend to systemic corruption, which he said allowed suspects to evade justice after allegedly bribing people in authority.
According to Damion, “nobody chooses jungle justice just because violence is a good thing, no. They do it out of frustration, fear and a belief that the system won’t deliver justice.
“Nigerians have lost confidence in both the security agencies and even the court.
“Imagine a criminal raped your daughter and then you report the case to the police, the rapist is arrested only for you to see him walking freely in the street the following month.
“I’m sure Nigerians have not forgotten the case of the 13-year-old girl, Ochanya Ogbanje who was allegedly raped by a lecturer and his son in Benue State until she died.
“The two suspects are walking freely in the society as we speak. Do you think Ochanya’s family is happy over it? The system failed them.
“When next they have a suspect, they will do the justice by themselves. That is what we are facing.
“Ochanya’s alleged rapists were allegedly freed because of one politician behind them. Imagine that! A young girl with a bright future. Her life was cut short and everybody just moved on.
“The matter resurfaced sometime last year, but what happened next? Those using their voice to call for justice may have again been compromised.”
He pointed out that until accountability improved in the country, the pressure to “do it ourselves” would stay high.
What the law allows
On the legal implications of jungle justice, activist lawyer, Nkereuwm Akpan, Esq., said the Nigerian Constitution only permits self-defence where a suspect was armed and posed an immediate threat to the lives of people around him.
According to him, “there is nothing in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Criminal Code, the Penal Code or any other Law for the time being in force allowing for jungle justice to be visited on persons apprehended by the public on the allegations of having committed a crime, even where such a person is caught in the act”.
He noted that what the law permitted “is for such suspected felons to be handed over immediately to the relevant law enforcement agencies for further investigation and possible prosecution.
“Now there exist in our laws the provisions relating to self defense when an assailant is armed with dangerous weapons and it is on those occasions that the law permits someone who is attacked to use such reasonable force and available means to defend his or herself.”
