The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) has strongly condemned the brutal mob killing of 16 northerners in Uromi, Edo State, describing it as a “barbaric” and “gruesome” act of jungle justice symptomatic of Nigeria’s failed justice and security systems.
According to SPN, the victims—reportedly over 20 in total—were attacked by a mob on March 28 while travelling in a truck en route to Kano. Found with locally made Dane guns, the men were suspected to be kidnappers and were lynched on the spot, with only a few surviving the attack.
In a joint statement signed by Acting National Chairperson Abiodun Bamigboye and National Secretary Chinedu Bosah, the SPN noted that this incident was another grim outcome of rising insecurity and public distrust in Nigeria’s justice system.
“This is the latest in a troubling pattern of jungle justice that has become a recurring tragedy across the country,” the party stated.
The SPN blamed successive governments for failing to provide adequate security and allowing corruption and inefficiency to flourish within the police and judiciary.
“With about 300,000 police personnel in Nigeria, many are deployed to protect the rich and politically connected, leaving the majority of citizens vulnerable,” the statement read.
It further criticised the hierarchical and politically driven control of the police, accusing the capitalist elite of using the security apparatus to suppress dissent, including the brutal crackdowns on the #EndSARS protests in 2020 and EndBadGovernance demonstrations in 2024.
The party expressed concern that communities have resorted to taking the law into their own hands due to a lack of trust in the judiciary, which it described as “corrupt” and “unaffordable” for the poor.
However, SPN insisted that jungle justice is not the answer, warning that such actions only open the door to arbitrary killings, stereotyping, and ethnic profiling. “Even if the men were suspected of wrongdoing, they should have been handed over to the police for investigation. Mob action is unjustifiable,” the statement said.
The SPN also called for the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the killings, but cautioned against indiscriminate arrests or extortion by the police. It also condemned the targeting of specific ethnic groups, warning that the killing of the Uromi 16 was a dangerous example of ethnic profiling escalating into mass violence.
The party urged the government to democratise the security architecture by putting all forms of vigilante groups—such as Amotekun, Hisbah, and neighbourhood watches—under the control of multi-ethnic, community-based defence committees accountable to the people.
