Establishing the nexus among mob justice, human rights violations and the state: Evidence from Nigeria

Abstract

Over time, justice has been one of humanity's most important affairs the state institutions are mandated to achieve every in civil and criminal proceedings. However, the Nigerian state criminal justice system faces the issue of individuals embracing illegal punishment termed “mob justice” to address public security threats and police neighborhoods. Such punishment tends to violate human rights laws. Hence, this study explored mob justice issues and their intersection with human rights in Nigeria. From 1152 participants recruited in Lagos, Nigeria using simple random and convenience sampling methods, the data was gathered via a structured questionnaire and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The findings indicated that institutional problems and unethical practices in the criminal justice system aggravate public distrust. In conjunction with socioeconomic disparities, the distrust triggers individuals to adopt an unconventional approach (mob justice) against crime suspects for public security's sake. Such an approach violates suspects' rights to life, a fair hearing, justice, and protection from degrading treatments as stipulated in the 1999 Nigerian Constitution and international human rights treaties the country is a signatory to. However, the study advised the Nigerian state and criminal justice stakeholders to address structural and institutional issues that make mob justice an alternative form of justice appealing to the public.