Odita Sunday 
HURIWA Raises Alarm Over Rising Mob Killings, Demands Prosecution of Jungle Justice Perpetrators
By Odita Sunday
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has raised the alarm over what it described as Nigeria’s dangerous slide into mob barbarism, warning that the increasing cases of lynchings, public torture, sexual assaults and extrajudicial killings threaten the country’s constitutional democracy and the rule of law. The rights group called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of all perpetrators of jungle justice, insisting that no allegation of crime justifies torture, rape or mob execution.
The demand was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, National Coordinator of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), who urged security agencies and judicial authorities to ensure that perpetrators of mob violence are brought to justice without delay.
HURIWA said recent incidents in Plateau, Enugu and Rivers states demonstrate a disturbing national pattern in which suspected offenders are subjected to brutal attacks by mobs without investigation, due process or judicial determination.
It warned that Nigeria was steadily drifting towards a society where suspicion has become a death sentence and criminal mobs have usurped the constitutional responsibilities of the police and the courts.
The association expressed particular concern over the reported killing of Ibrahim Mbaya, a University of Jos graduate and model, who allegedly died after being assaulted over accusations of stealing a mobile phone.
It also cited the case of a woman in Enugu State who reportedly suffered mob torture, multiple sexual assaults and banishment after fleeing years of domestic violence, as well as the alleged stripping and sexual assault of a female suspect accused of involvement in a “one-chance” robbery syndicate in Rivers State before security operatives intervened.
According to HURIWA, none of the allegations against the victims, including theft or robbery, can lawfully justify torture, sexual violence or extrajudicial killing.
The organisation reminded Nigerians that Section 36 of the Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to a fair hearing and presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a competent court.
The rights group also condemned the growing trend of stripping suspects naked, forcing them to perform degrading acts, publicly humiliating them and recording such incidents for circulation on social media, describing the development as evidence of a frightening erosion of moral values and increasing desensitisation to human suffering.
It urged the Inspector-General of Police to issue immediate operational directives to all state police commands to ensure rapid intervention in cases of mob violence and to identify, arrest and prosecute everyone captured in videos participating in mob attacks, torture and sexual assaults.
HURIWA further called on the Attorneys-General of the Federation and the states to ensure diligent prosecution of suspects arrested in connection with such incidents, warning against abandoning cases after the initial public outrage subsides.
The organisation also appealed to the National Assembly and state legislatures to strengthen existing laws on mob violence, torture and extrajudicial punishment, while urging traditional rulers, religious leaders, youth organisations, market associations and community leaders to intensify public enlightenment against jungle justice.
While commending security agencies investigating some of the reported incidents, HURIWA maintained that arrests alone would not restore public confidence unless they result in transparent prosecutions and convictions where guilt is established by competent courts.
The association warned that unless decisive action is taken, Nigeria risks institutionalising a culture in which “the loudest crowd becomes judge, jury and executioner,” stressing that justice administered outside the law amounts to criminality rather than justice.
It urged the Nigeria Police Force, the Federal Ministry of Justice, the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigerian Bar Association, state governments and other relevant institutions to work together to halt the growing wave of mob justice before more lives are lost.
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