The spokesperson for the Delta State Police Command, Bright Edafe, has warned the public against taking the law into their own hands.
This is coming after a video circulated on social media showed a suspected thief being physically assaulted.
The clip, which went viral on X, captured security operatives tying up the legs of the suspect while bystanders beat him mercilessly.
The Nigerian who shared the video claimed the suspect, identified as a customer of First City Monument Bank, had locked himself inside a restroom at one of the bank’s branches, climbed onto the ceiling, and tried to hack FCMB’s computer systems.
“When he noticed that all the staff had gone, he came down and tried to hack all the systems. He also locked himself inside.
This morning, when my colleagues arrived at the office, they noticed the door was locked from the inside. They had to break the door and go in; that’s when they noticed that someone was on top of the ceiling,” the eyewitness said.
Responding to the video, the Delta Police spokesperson reiterated that jungle justice can lead to imprisonment in Nigeria.
According to him, people have actually gone to jail in Nigeria because they engaged in jungle justice despite all the warnings from the Nigerian Police Force.
He concluded by saying that once a thief is caught, the proper thing is to hand the suspect over to the police for justice to prevail.
“We must understand that jungle justice could send one to prison. People have gone to prison because of jungle justice. You already caught the thief, why beat him?” he added.
