Amnesty International Urges Nigeria To End Mob Violence

Amnesty International has called on the federal government to take decisive steps against the recurring cases of mob violence across Nigeria.

It lamented that the failure of state institutions continues to encourage jungle justice and loss of innocent lives.

The country director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Mr Isa Sanusi, made the call in Kano during a town hall meeting with key stakeholders as part of its ongoing nationwide campaign against mob violence.

According to him, the campaign, launched two years ago, was aimed at discouraging Nigerians from taking the law into their own hands and drawing the government’s attention to the scale of the problem.

Sanusi described mob violence as a national crisis that cuts across all geopolitical zones, noting that people are often killed instantly over mere allegations of blasphemy, theft or witchcraft, without investigation or recourse to the law; maintaining that no civilised society that operates under the rule of law can allow this culture of violence and lawlessness to continue.

He cited documented cases, including the killing of a woman in Calabar over suspected witchcraft and the recent killing of a pastor in Southern Kaduna accused of causing his brother’s prolonged illness and eventual death.

According to him, Amnesty International has profiled no fewer than 155 cases of mob violence in the last 10 years, with at least 23 resulting in deaths across different parts of the country.

Sanusi stressed that mob justice is not peculiar to any region, describing it as a Nigerian problem requiring a collective and institutional response.