One of Nollywood’s leading ladies, Nse Ikpe Etim recently recounted an incidence where she witnessed a man set ablaze by an angry mob in what is commonly known as ‘jungle justice’ in Nigeria.
She recalled, “I took a night bus to Aba some years ago from Abuja to the fabric market. After I had walked around and seen for myself, I went back to the park and decided to have a beer. I brought out my laptop and started writing, trying to blend in so I won’t look out of place. I was scared, but I knew that in a few hours, I would be back home. As I took a sip from my bottle and turned to my laptop, someone had lifted the bottle in pursuit of a young man. I heard screams of ‘Onye oshi!’ ‘Thief!’ That was when I realized that the woman screaming had been robbed of her purse.
“The woman claimed she had only N200 and an umbrella in the purse. They pursued him, caught him and put a tire on his neck. They poured fuel on him and all I could do was beg the officers there to help him. They looked at me and struck the match. My journey to the nation’s capital was no longer the adventure I hoped it would be. It was my worst nightmare. This isn’t a movie. I’m talking about Jungle Justice in Nigeria. I think it’s sickening and sad. We cannot lose our humanity. If a man does wrong, please seek the hands of the law. Taking the law into your hands is barbaric and that’s not what we should be.”
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