The reality is that jungle justice thrives everywhere in Nigeria for the same reason: people no longer trust the justice system to protect them or punish offenders. And as the saying goes, once you allow the mob to decide who lives or dies, no one is safe, not even the mob!
By Salihu Tanko Yakasai
Everywhere you look in this country, you can see rot in the system. The complicity of those who should know better is evident, and the vices that have become normalized persist across different parts of Nigeria. From chronic underdevelopment in all six geopolitical zones, including the oil producing states and the so-called economic hubs, to the regions that pride themselves on their religiosity, there’s no shortage of poor leadership.
However, one thing I find both amusing and troubling is how quickly the South amplifies the problems of the North, often presenting them as unique or exclusive to us, totally oblivious to theirs.
For clarity, I am not excusing the North. I have addressed our issues many times, particularly regarding insecurity. In fact, some readers may recall that I was arrested by the DSS in 2021 during the administration of late President Buhari after I criticized the handling of the Tegina schoolgirls’ abduction. I have also written openly about the failures of northern leaders, including my 2012 article, “19 Northern Governors: The Certified Parasites.” I have consistently urged young
northerners to build capacity and equip themselves to add value to Arewa and the country as a whole. Yes, we have been vocal in our criticisms and have held our leaders accountable.
What I rarely see happen, is that same objectivity from many in the South. Whenever something occurs in the North, they swiftly condemn all northerners collectively, presenting it as if the entire region is guilty or that such acts are widespread and culturally accepted.
Take jungle justice as an example. The killing of Deborah in Sokoto is often cited as a favorite reference point by Nigerians from the South. For the record, my position has always been clear: Deborah should have been handed over to the authorities if she committed any crime. No one has the right to pass judgment outside the law. Her killing was jungle justice, plain and simple. Does that mean blasphemy is condoned? Absolutely not. But it should be the courts, not a mob, that decides.
However, here’s the hypocrisy: that same jungle justice is also widespread in the South. Burning people alive with tires, stoning them, or using cutlass to unalive them is rampant all over the South.
Many high-profile killings of northerners have occurred there in recent years. Harira Jubril and her four daughters were murdered in Anambra in 2022 by suspected ESN operatives. Sixteen northerners were lynched and burned in Uromi, Edo State, in 2025. The violence at Sasa market in Ibadan in 2021 left many Hausa residents dead and displaced. In the same year, armed separatists shot dead northern traders in Orlu and Umuaka, Imo State. These are not rumors; these are facts.
Even in the Southwest, where many present themselves as morally superior, the jungle justice carried out by the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) is conveniently forgotten. OPC began as a rights group but quickly morphed into a vigilante outfit linked to violent clashes across Lagos in the late ’90s and early 2000s
Yet, somehow, these incidents are downplayed or ignored. When you mention them, some people respond by saying Deborah was killed “in the name of Islam,” as if that magically makes the killing of northerners acceptable merely because it wasn’t done “in the name of Christianity,” even though the perpetrators were Christians.
Even in the Southwest, where many present themselves as morally superior, the jungle justice carried out by the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) is conveniently forgotten. OPC began as a rights group but quickly morphed into a vigilante outfit linked to violent clashes across Lagos in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Human Rights Watch documented killings ranging from beheadings, torture, arson, and ethnic attacks in areas such as Ketu, Mile 12, Ajegunle, Idi-Araba, Ojo, and Isolo. Northern traders, civilians, and even police officers were victims, with official estimates of the death toll nearing 500. Yet this history rarely makes its way into their moral lectures. Curiously, their memory seems to begin and end with Deborah or similar acts in the North.
The common denominator in all these examples is clear: jungle justice. It is neither northern nor southern; it is a Nigerian problem. This selective outrage is not only hypocritical; it is dangerous. If we genuinely want a better country, we must condemn evil wherever it arises, not just when it suits our regional ego.
Jungle justice thrives on emotion, ignorance, and collective cowardice. It destroys trust, erodes justice, and turns ordinary people into executioners. Until we confront this truth honestly, without hypocrisy or selective morality, we will continue to dance in circles, pretending that one part of Nigeria is holier than the other.
The reality is that jungle justice thrives everywhere in Nigeria for the same reason: people no longer trust the justice system to protect them or punish offenders. And as the saying goes, once you allow the mob to decide who lives or dies, no one is safe, not even the mob!
•Salihu Tanko Yakasai
Dawisun Kanawa
Masoyin Kano da Arewa da Najeriya.
•Opinions, positions or thoughts expressed here are personal and strictly of the writer/author and do not represent the views of The Daily Crucible.
