The Nigeria Police Force has condemned the mob attack on a United States-based medical doctor in Ibadan, describing jungle justice as a criminal act and warning Nigerians against taking the law into their own hands.
Force Media Officer, CSP Aliyu Giwa, gave the warning in a statement shared on his X handle, @aleeygiwa, on Thursday while reacting to the incident which occurred on Monday.
According to Giwa, the doctor was falsely accused of kidnapping after two young girls were seen inside his Lexus 330 SUV around the 2nd Powerline Area of Ologuneru, along the Eleyele-Ido Road in Ibadan at about 2:30 p.m.
He explained that an angry crowd forcefully dragged the doctor out of the vehicle, assaulted him and eventually set the SUV ablaze over the suspicion.
Condemning the action of the mob, Giwa urged Nigerians to always report suspicious activities to security agencies and allow proper investigation instead of resorting to violence.
“Jungle justice is not justice; it is a crime.
“Always check the facts before reacting and report to the police before taking any action.
“An innocent man was almost lynched, and his car was burned, all because of an assumption,” he said.
The police spokesman disclosed that preliminary investigations later showed that the kidnapping allegation was false and stemmed from a misunderstanding.
“Preliminary findings showed that the two girls, aged 15 and 12, were legally under the care of the doctor and were being taken to assist his mother with domestic chores.
“Their guardian confirmed the arrangement to investigators, while the girls also corroborated the doctor’s explanation,” he said.
Giwa further stated that the situation worsened because the girls could not speak the local language, while the doctor was unable to immediately explain the circumstances before the crowd turned violent.
He added that officers of the Oyo State Police Command intervened swiftly and rescued the doctor from the mob, noting that the timely response prevented what could have resulted in a fatal attack.