What you need to know
IGP Tunde Disu has warned Nigerians against jungle justice and mob attacks on suspected criminals.
He said anyone who kills a suspect through mob action could face murder charges and the death penalty.
Police commissioners nationwide have been directed to investigate mob-action cases as homicide.
Inspector-General of Police Tunde Disu has issued a strong warning to Nigerians against taking the law into their own hands, saying people involved in mob attacks that lead to the death of suspects could be prosecuted for murder.
Disu made the warning in a viral video while addressing growing concerns over jungle justice and extrajudicial killings across the country.
Read original: BendelNews
According to the police chief, attacking or killing someone merely because they are suspected of committing a crime does not amount to lawful community action.
“Anybody who assaults or summarily executes a suspected criminal in the name of mob action is guilty of murder. And the punishment for murder is death,” Disu stated.
The IGP further warned that people who incite, organise or participate in mob attacks could face criminal prosecution.
He also said those who record and circulate videos of such attacks, or deliberately prevent police officers from intervening, could be investigated for conspiracy to commit murder, an offence that may attract up to 14 years in prison.
Disu said he had directed Commissioners of Police across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to treat every reported case of mob action as a homicide and conduct comprehensive investigations.
“We are not going to spare anybody who is involved in mob action. We will do a thorough investigation, and we will take them to court,” he said.
The directive comes amid renewed concerns over cases of suspected criminals being beaten or killed by members of the public without trial.
One recent case involved 25-year-old University of Jos graduate Ibrahim Mbaya, who was reportedly beaten to death after being accused of stealing an iPhone 12.
The police have urged Nigerians to hand suspected criminals over to law enforcement authorities rather than resorting to violence.
The warning also serves as a reminder that being suspected of a crime does not amount to being found guilty, and members of the public have no legal authority to punish suspects themselves.
