In propounding his social contract theory, Thomas Hobbes, a 17th Century English Philosopher sought to discover rational principles for the construction of a civil society that would not be subject to destruction from within.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/TheNigerialawyer-WhatsApp-Channel1.jpg")
To establish his theory, Hobbes invited us to consider what life would be like in the State of Nature, that is, a condition without Law and Order, where each decides for himself how to act and becomes the accuser, Judge and executioner in his own case, whenever disputes arise. According to Hobbes, in the State of Nature, life of man is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.
Fast-forward to 21st Century, it is rather worrisome that certain indices and characteristics of the State of Nature such as Mob Justice and Self-help still hold sway and continue to gain prominence in our modern society, in spite of the numerous laws, rules, regulations, state institutions established by the sovereign authorities to regulate human conducts, actions and inaction.
Within the context of this piece, Mob Justice can be defined as the practice whereby a mob, usually a group of persons take the law into their hands to injure and/or kill a person suspected of wrongdoing, while Self-help can be defined as the act of a person or a group of persons providing illegal and unlawful remedy to a perceived criminal conduct, rather than relying on the relevant government institution or authority to exercise their statutory duties and powers.
Series of events which have occurred recently can be used to mirror the incidence and devastating effect of Mob Justice and Self-help. Few days ago, a disturbing video footage of two men who were beaten to stupor and almost lynched by a mob in Lawanson area of Surulere, Lagos rented the entire social media platforms.
The footage showed a man and his brother being severely tortured, having both been accused by the man’s wife of kidnapping herself and her daughter for ritual purposes. It was however discovered upon the intervention and consequent investigations by the Police that the woman was in fact suffering from mental illness and her husband and his brother were merely conveying her to the hospital when she raised alarm, thereby attracting the attention of the angry mob.
Another horrific incidence was also reported few days ago concerning a 61 years old man who was arrested somewhere around Okokomaiko, Lagos State for cutting off the hand of an 11 years old boy whom he suspected had come to steal fish from his pond. As demonstrated in these live cases, the phenomena of Mob Justice and Self-help occur when a group of people or a person constitute themselves or himself into the accuser, the investigator and the Judge and then proceed to administer punishment on an alleged wrong doer on the spot, without recourse to any legitimate law enforcement authority.
It is beyond dispute that this archaic mode of retributive justice put serious indictment and question mark on existence of the rule of law, administration of justice and application of the principle of fair hearing which are characteristic of a modern society. Under normal circumstance, the powers, duties and responsibility of preventing crimes and punishing offenders are not within the province of private individual or group of individuals. Those powers are vested in the statutory and constitutionally recognized institutions and authorities.
For instance, Section 4 of the Nigerian Police Act confers enormous statutory powers on the Police in this regard. It provides that “the Police shall be employed for the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of offenders, the preservation of law and order, the protection of life and property and due enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are directly charged.”
In the same vein, the Judicial powers are vested in the Courts. Upon investigation of crime by the Police or any other similar state institution, the power to determine the guilt or otherwise of a person accused of committing such crime is within the exclusive preserve of the Courts of competent Jurisdiction. It is also these Courts that have the power to impose appropriate punishment on an offender, upon conviction. In the exercise of their powers, the Courts are duty bound to observe and apply the fair hearing principles.
These principles of fair hearing which are enshrined in Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are established on the twin pillars commonly expressed in the latin maxims – audi alteram patem, which means “hear the other side” and nemo judex in causa sua, meaning “no one can be a Judge in his own cause”.
Considering the existence of rules, regulations, laws as well as legitimate institutions charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order in a modern society like ours, one wonders what could be responsible for the apparent prevalence of Mob Justice and Self-help which constitute a frontal attack against the observance of the rule of law and the application of the fair hearing principles.
Studies have shown some possible causes of Mob Justice and Self-help. One of the major causes is traced to Foreign Law Reception Failure whereby the indigenous people refuse to accept the Received English Law which prescribes that an accused person is presumed innocent and cannot be punished unless it is proved beyond reasonable doubt that he is guilty of the allegations levelled against him.
Another dominant factor responsible for Mob Justice and Self-help is the public dissatisfaction and loss of confidence in the existing legal framework, statutory and constitutional institutions. It is commonly perceived among the members of the public that most law enforcement agents are only occupying their office to serve their personal and pecuniary interest. This influences their engagement in corrupt practices and they are often not able to put themselves above such considerations in the performance of their statutory duties.
What about the perennial problem of delay in the Administration of Justice? A number of institutions and persons involved in the Administration of Justice are responsible for the delay. It is indeed arguable that that the Police, the Prison Authorities, the Courts, the Lawyers and even the Defendant share the blame in delay in the Administration of Justice. They all have one role or the other to play and in playing these roles, they fall into some sort of relaxation which result in delay.
However, it must be clearly stated that no matter how well founded the factors responsible for Mob-Justice and Self-help may seem, they can never amount to reasonable justification for wanton disregard for the observance of rule of law and the protection of the Fundamental Rights of every individual living in a modern society. The reason for this expression is quite obvious. Section 36(12) of the 1999 Constitution prescribes that a man cannot be subjected to a punishment which is higher than that which was prescribed for the offence as at the time of commission.
Implicit in the foregoing is that under the legitimate Criminal Justice System, the punishment for every crime is measured proportionately against the nature of the crime committed in a manner which guarantees the balance of justice between the victim and the offender. This is however not obtainable under the regime of barbaric practice of Mob Justice and Self-help, whereby an innocent man may be punished for an alleged offence which he never committed. Similarly, a guilty man may be subjected to a punishment which is grossly disproportionate to the offence he has committed.
For instance, but for the timely intervention and investigative activities of the Police, the man who was merely trying to rescue his wife from the scourge of mental illness might have been murdered in cold blood under the influence of mob actions, based on the false allegation of kidnapping. What about the little boy suspected to have stolen fish? He ought to have been handed over to the police where he will be investigated, tried at the Juvenile Court, convicted, if found guilty and punished according to law.
The truth is that a stolen fish can be retrieved and returned to the pond owner or the value of the fish paid, if already consumed. However, a chopped off hand can never be restored to the position it was. Besides, the physical, psychological, social and emotional losses which will be suffered by the little boy can never be adequately compensated.
It is conceded that the effectiveness of the Rule of Law is largely dependent on the trust and confidence of the people in the legitimacy of bodies and institutions charged with the responsibilities of maintaining Law and Order. It must however be emphasized that a modern society like ours owes an absolute responsibility to devise a formidable strategy to clampdown on all forms of Mob Justice and Self-help.
We must collectively avoid and discourage in strong terms, all practices which are akin to the condition and standard reflective of the ‘State of Nature’. To achieve this end, we must embark on public awareness and enlightenment campaign about the destructive effect of Mob Justice and Self-help on our modern society.
Finally, we must sanitize our society by entrenching and embracing the smooth operation of Rule of Law which emphasizes the supremacy of the Justice System, fairness and respect for human rights. The Judges, Lawyers, Law Enforcement Agents and other institutions playing a role or the other in the Administration of Justice must remain steadfast to their responsibilities of working effectively and efficiently towards attaining a peaceful, fair, safe, secured and developed modern society.
© Tunde Ayeni, LL.M, ACIArb. June 2019. 08028557584.
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