Crime, Kidnapping, and Jungle Justice
Conference: The 23rd Annual International Conference of the Igbo Studies Association (ISA) (2026)
Presenter(s): Valentine Chiagorom Opara
Presentation Date: May 14, 2026 @ 20:39 PM
Tags: Nigeria Delta State Asaba
Abstract
Crime is any activity that constitutes an offence and is punishable by law. Some heinous offences may include shoplifting, snatching, kidnapping, and molestation. In Nigeria and most of sub-Saharan Africa, the institutionalized justice system attempts to remedy wrongs through due process. In contrast, extrajudicial jungle justice by angry mobs or vigilante groups tends to punish the accused in socially disruptive ways. In most cases, a petty accusation such as phone theft can escalate into horrific acts of violence like lynching or burning a victim with a gasoline-soaked tire. Far from deterring crime, jungle justice perpetuates a cycle of brutality. It desensitizes the public to violence and undermines the Rule of Law. This paper interrogates how a society functions and how justice must be objective and dispassionate. When individuals take the law into their own hands, they stop being victims of crime and become perpetrators of a new, often more heinous offense. True security is not found in the hands of a mob, but through the reform of judicial institutions that ensure every person is proven guilty before they are punished. Despite the flaws of our judicial system and power-hungry police, we still need to trust the government and not take the law into our own hands. Many innocent people have fallen victim to jungle justice, especially in Nigeria.
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