The Nigeria Police Force announced that it will bring charges against vigilante Agunbiade Adekunle for allegedly killing a vandal that was turned over to him in the Itire neighborhood of Lagos.
According to reports, on March 25, 2024, when the vandal was discovered, Agunbiade, the security guard at Shonde Street in the state’s Itire district, opted to setting the vandal on fire.
In a statement, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Force Public Relations Officer, said that the security guard will face legal action to serve as caution to Nigerians against jungle justice.
He said, “It is pertinent to understand that the act of taking the law into one’s hands has often been described and referred to as jungle justice. The act has globally been condemned for many obvious reasons, particularly as a parasitic hindrance to strengthening the criminal justice system.
“For instance, police operatives attached to the Itire Divisional Police Headquarters of Lagos State on the 25th of March 2024 received a report from a man who resides along Shonde Street, Itire, that a group of hoodlums were vandalizing his vehicle and he raised an alarm which led to the arrest of one of the vandals.”
Adejobi continued, “The street security guard, Agunbiade Adekunle, was given the vandal, but he ended up killing the suspect by setting him on fire.”
He further stated “The guard has been arrested and will be charged to court for murder.
“There are other similar cases recorded across the country that have been condemned and hindered the smooth investigation and prosecution of many cases,”
The public was advised by the Police spokesperson to avoid extrajudicial killings, mob activities, and jungle justice.
Jungle justice, according to him, is an illegal practice that violates human rights seriously and jeopardizes the foundations of civilization by fostering an environment that breeds hatred, violence, and anarchy.