The Police Command in Akwa Ibom, has vowed to prosecute those who take the laws into their hands in the form of jungle justice against suspected criminals.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Superintendent of Police Odiko Macdon in Uyo on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Jungle justice is a form of public extrajudicial killing or where an alleged criminal is humiliated, beaten or summarily executed by a crowd.
Macdon said that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Andrew Amiengheme recently frowned at the high rate of jungle justice by some irate mob in the state.
The PPRO warned that henceforth, all perpetrators of jungle justice would be identified, apprehended and prosecuted.
Macdon said that the act could not guarantee fairness to a suspect and therefor, should not be allowed to continue.
According to him, the act of jungle justice if not checked, might lead to the death of innocent persons and snowball into anarchy.
“The Commissioner of Police notes that jungle justice is a travesty of justice, as it does not guarantee fairness to anyone and may lead to the death of an innocent person(s).
“The act may lead to a state of anarchy and will therefore, not be tolerated as it negates the subsisting constitutional provisions and has no place in our criminal justice administration,’’ Amiengheme said.
The commissioner of police appealed to members of the public to be law abiding and always handover suspected criminals when caught to the police for diligent prosecution. (NAN)