How We Saved an Adolescent Boy From Jungle Justice in Bida

I was about stepping inside the house after I saw off Mayaki who had visited this morning, when I saw a procession of aggrieved youths heading towards the next street with an adolescent boy being draggedalong in the middle. From where I was standing, I could see two tightly muscled arms, one from each side, with their fingers clutched round the waistband of the dirty trousers the boy was wearing. 

This did little in convincing me that the innocent looking boy was in trouble, until I noticed his were the only unshoed feet among a dozen of feetin the crowd.At this point, I became convinced that the boy, who was now pleading for mercy, had done something wrong but which I dismissed as not worth a misdemeanor. I shouted "hey" and my shout barricaded the procession. They all stopped, turned around and were astonished by my guts. "What did he do?" I asked as I approached the waiting crowd. "He stole a bicycle." "He snatched a bicycle," two angry voices yelled in quick succession. "So, where are you taking him to?" I queried in an unusually meek tone. "To the owner of the bicycle," answered a cross section of the crowd which was becoming impatient and eager to leave.So, I began to plead with the angry mob while intermittently chiding the boy whose face was already bearing bruises and whoselips appeared to have gotten some harsh fistand Harmattan treatment. I also shared with them ugly memories of the two Esso incidents, and preached the wrongness and illegality of jungle justice to them. But when Idiscovered that my words could not prevail much on them, I quickly rushed to call two old women from the neighboring house to intervene in the matter which was almost getting out of hand.

 The women rushed out but were welcomed by the deafening sound of the thunderous slap that landed on the boy's cheek for the fifth time.The old women entered the crowd, almost crying, and begged for his release. They talked sense into every agent in the mob, and the boy was freed but with some pieces of advice from both the mob and sympathizers. In the end even the owner of the sports bicycle thanked us for saving the boy's life.

Say no to jungle justice!

By: Amà Usman Mohammed