“The Nigerian authorities must urgently address the escalating cases of mob violence, including by upholding and protecting the rights of everyone in the country to life and freedom from torture.”
By Jonathan Ugbal
No fewer than 555 victims of jungle justice have been recorded within 10 years in Nigeria, in 363 documented incidents, fueled by the inability of the Government to protect lives and citizenry leading to impunity, says a report by Amnesty International.
The global movement, in its report titled, “Instantly Killed: How Law Enforcement Failures Exacerbate Wave Of Mob Violence In Nigeria,” released earlier pointed out that victims were largely accused of theft, blasphemy, shoplifting, and witchcraft with several killed with impunity while suspected perpetrators almost always get away with it.
“Between January 2012 to August 2023, Amnesty International recorded at least 555 victims of mob violence, from 363 documented incidents across Nigeria. Over the period of this investigation, 57 people were killed by violent mobs; 32 were burnt alive, 2 persons were buried alive, while 23 people were tortured to death,” the report disclosed, with Isa Sanusi, the Director, Amnesty International Nigeria describing it as one of the biggest threats to the right to life in the country.
“The menace of mob violence is perhaps one of the biggest threats to the right to life in Nigeria. The fact that these killings have been happening for a long time, with few cases investigated and prosecuted, highlights the authorities’ shocking failure to uphold and fulfil their obligation to protect people from harm and violence,” Sanusi said in a statement announcing the report.
The victims include “at least 13 women, six children, and two people with actual or perceived mental health illnesses and/or psycho-social or intellectual disabilities.”
You Can Download The Full Report Here.
Geographical Spread
The cases researched show that the North-West region led with 100 cases, followed by the South-West with 98; South-South (82), South-East (43), North-Central (42), and North-East (26).
While, “in the southern parts of Nigeria, mob violence is mostly targeted at those accused of theft, of taking part in rituals or practicing witchcraft, in northern Nigeria, it is mostly used against those accused of blasphemy and often endorsed by religious clerics,” the report disclosed.
Contributing Factors
AI’s report states that, “those with mental health conditions and psycho-social disabilities are consistently targeted by violent mobs that use their disabilities to make false accusations against victims and to justify lynching them.”
“It is appalling that mob violence is gradually becoming the norm, often meted out in crowded areas, such as motor parks, market areas and busy roads. Victims were always tortured, including by beating, stoning, or via the use of improvised weapons like sticks and metal rods,” said Isa Sanusi.
According to AI, social status, identities as members of religious or other minority groups were means used in targeting victims. Other reasons for targeting victims include attempts to curtail the rights to freedom of expression, and freedom from discrimination due to gender or specific conditions, including against women, children, and people with psycho-social disabilities.
The Report
According to AI, the “apparent encouragement of killings for blasphemy by religious leaders creates an environment in which mobs feel entitled to take the law into their own hands.” The global movement lamented that, “government officials rarely publicly condemn mob violence for blasphemy,” and listed some cases to justify this claim.
Deborah Samuel Yakubu, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, was killed on 12 May 2022. A horrifying video showing her being stoned and burned to death was circulated widely on social media. The police arrived at the scene after Deborah was already dead. Those arrested after the incident were freed and were never brought to justice.
On 4 June 2022, a blasphemy allegation was made against Ahmad Usman (who was also known as Musa). He was lynched by a mob at the tipper garage in Lugbe District, Abuja.
On 25 June 2023, Usman Buda – a Sokoto-based butcher, was killed by a mob for alleged blasphemy. Amnesty International found that the religious argument leading to his lynching was a set-up to settle personal grudges over sales in the market.
Despite numerous cases of women being victims of mob violence over allegations of witchcraft, the Nigerian authorities have failed to promptly, thoroughly and effectively investigate these allegations or put up safeguards, especially in rural areas where women are targeted, in many cases, to settle personal or inter-family scores.
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On 18 June 2023, Martina Okey Itagbor was accused of causing the death of two young men who died in a motor accident. She was accused of witchcraft, which was alleged to be the cause of the accident. A mob gathered around Mrs Okey and interrogated her. They then collected stones and other harmful objects and tortured her before burning her alive by the roadside.
READ MORE: Mother of Four Accused Of Witchcraft, Burnt To Ash In Cross River Community
Recommendations
AI says, “the Nigerian authorities are failing to protect the human rights of victims, and the families of victims. They are failing to ensure access to justice and effective remedies for victims.”
“The Nigerian authorities must urgently address the escalating cases of mob violence, including by upholding and protecting the rights of everyone in the country to life and freedom from torture,” Isa said.
He added that; “Government must ensure prompt, thorough, impartial, independent, transparent and effective investigation of cases of mob violence and bring those suspected to be responsible to justice in fair trials. Authorities should also take appropriate and effective measures to prevent cases of mob violence across the country and ensure access to justice and effective remedies for victims. The police must be adequately equipped to respond to mob violence.”
Furthermore, AI recommended that “mob violence should be treated as a national issue, respecting the need for collaboration between the Nigerian government, civil society organizations, activists, and other interested parties,” and that, “the authorities should provide safeguards against mob violence. The government should enact anti-mob violence laws to strengthen the legal frameworks and institutions. The abandoned mob violence bill must be passed to cover all the circumstances and dynamics of mob violence, specifically and holistically.”
AI also recommended that, “given the incompatibility of the blasphemy laws with international human rights law, the authorities should immediately work towards their abolition,” among others.
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