By Hadiza Mohammed, Northern Operation
Amnesty International Nigeria has condemned what it described as the growing wave of mob violence and “jungle justice” in northern Nigeria, warning that recent incidents reflect a dangerous erosion of the rule of law and due process.
In a statement issued on Friday, the rights organisation cited the violent siege of a court in the Kofar Soro area of Katsina town on Wednesday, July 1, where a large crowd of children and young men, armed with dangerous weapons, demanded the extrajudicial execution of a suspect standing trial over allegations of blasphemy.
According to Amnesty International, the incident was a direct assault on the justice system and the constitutional rights of the accused.
“The dangerous incident on Wednesday 1st July 2026, at Kofar Soro area of Katsina town, in which a large crowd of children and young men besieged a court carrying arms violently demanding extrajudicial execution of someone on trial over an allegation of blasphemy is an attack on rule of law. The standard in Nigeria is rule of law, not ‘jungle justice,'” the organisation said.
The rights group noted that the Katsina incident occurred barely 10 days after a mob allegedly burned to death Ummulkhairi, a mother of five and a teacher in Mararabar Jos, Kaduna State, over what it described as baseless allegations of attempting to abduct children.
It warned that the latest development highlights an alarming rise in lawlessness and growing disregard for judicial processes.
“Katsina incident clearly shows increasing lawlessness and disregard for due process by mob in northern Nigeria. When people take law into their own hands, it denies an accused person — no matter the allegation — their constitutional right to a fair trial and puts innocent lives at risk,” Amnesty International stated.
The organisation also expressed concern over the participation of children in the violent demonstration, describing it as deeply troubling.
It noted that the crowd, made up largely of children and young men, wielded machetes, spears, iron rods, sledgehammers, broken bottles, daggers, bows and arrows, and knives while chanting death slogans and demanding the suspect’s execution.
“A situation in which children and young men can take to the streets with machetes, spears, iron rods, sledgehammers, broken bottles, daggers, bows and arrows and knives, chanting the songs of death, baying for blood is a threat to due process of law. It is alarming to note the desperate and reckless way the mob consisting of mostly children besieged a court,” the statement added.
Amnesty International stressed that children and young people should be in schools or acquiring vocational skills rather than participating in violent acts and calls for extrajudicial killings.
The organisation urged the Katsina State Government and security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and ensure that anyone found to have incited or participated in the mob action is brought to justice.
“Katsina State Government and law enforcement agencies must investigate this incident. Those suspected of inciting or participating in mob violence must be fully held accountable under the law. True justice can only be achieved through the rule of law, not through lawlessness and violence,” the organisation said.
