JUNGLE JUSTICE

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It was a Thursday afternoon, the sun Was extremely hot. You know that point when you feel you could even be roasted by it. It was 3pm and i was returning from work. I stood at the bus-stop close to the town's main market with several other people, waiting for a bus to come.

As i stood there, I noticed a young man, well dressed. By looking at him, I could guess he should be about 20 - 25 years of age. He wore a blue shirt and a black trouser, which he neatly tucked in along with his black belt and black shoe to match.

As we stood there waiting with the crowd, I suddenly heard a loud shout, " thief! thief o". The first response came with commotion as everyone scampered for safety first and then the valiant ones began to search for the ascribed thief.
The shout became persistent and i turned to see a woman shouting and pointing to the well-dressed young man I had been admiring, saying, "catch am o, he steal my money, he wan run enter motor go".
"What!!! ... how can that be?!... with all this baff-up?" These questions ran through my mind as the crowd began to lynch the young man. He looked confused and kept asking "what did I do, what did I do? But his questions were answered with heavy slaps on his face and back. Hoodlums got sticks of different sizes and began to hit him with it.

I stood in tears as i watched the beating continue with each strike more severe than the previous. At that moment, most people began to comment how several stuffs have been missing from their market stalls and as expected, they put the blame on him, saying that finally, they had caught the thief behind the thefts.

The young man was beaten so badly that he laid on the ground, his face was covered with blood and his attractive outfit ruined with dust and blood that came out from the beatings he was receiving.

"How much he steal from you, madam?" They asked the accuser. "3000 naira" she replied. They quickly searched his pocket and found 3000 naira and some other 100 naira and 50 naira change. "I said it!" The woman exclaimed. Everyone, including me, knew this case could no longer be defended. The young man pleaded for an opportunity to explain himself but at this point, the mob has gotten so angry cos they found the exact amount with him. They hit him harder with the stick as if they had a death wish for him.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, they started contributing money to get fuel and tyre. "Make we burn am here, if not, he go steal again". At this point, the young man could no longer speak, as his whole body lay bare by the roadside covered with blood.
They brought the fuel and the tyre was placed on him. There they stroke a match and the young man, who once stood by me looking elegantly dressed, let out a scream of pain and the fire engulfed him. He died a slow and painful death.

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As the crowd became quiet, watching how the flames turned to ashes, a little voice started calling from a distance, "mama, mama eh!" The woman who stood as the accuser turned and saw her daughter running towards her. When she got there, she said loudly," papa said I should give you this 3000 naira. He took it from your bag this afternoon". Ghen ghen! Everyone heard it. Someone shouted immediately," Ah! So no be this boy thief your money?" Too late, the young man, who we found out was called Peter, had been burnt to ashes.

That evening around 6pm, Peter's mum called his elder brother, Steve, asking him if Peter came to his shop that day, after expecting him for a while. His brother replied that he did and infact he gave him 3000 naira to give to his mother.

This is not a real life story, it's just fiction. But jungle justice is real in Nigeria. Don't be a part of it!