Lagos is the most populated city in Nigeria with an estimated population of about six million people. Lagos is also the commercial nerve centre of the Nigerian nation. Lagos is unique for so many reasons. Apart from the fact that that Lagos is unique because it is overpopulated and also because it is the home base of crooks popularly known as the “Area Boys”, Lagos is most famed for the way immediate justice is done to any thief that is caught in the act. This is also known as jungle justice.

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    Lagos is not a jungle. This city though very populated is a very beautiful city; in fact, places like Lekki, Ajah and Victoria Island in the heart of Lagos could compete favourably with any beautiful part of a major city any where in the world but Lagos is the only major city where instant judgment is meted out on any criminal or criminals caught in the art of stealing.

Recently, a gang of burglars had raided a house in a crowded neighborhood around Oshodi, a suburb of Lagos. The well trained criminals quickly gained access to the building and immediately started to harass the innocent but seriously scared members of a family of seven.

The thieves had a field day because they were seemingly lucky. They were alleged to have gotten about 1.5 million naira in cash (About $10,000) apart from other valuables including the international passport of the head of the family with valid multiple visas into some countries. Not done, the thieves demanded and got the key to the family’s Toyota V8 SUV.  Still not done, one of the three gang members shot and wounded the head of the family when he was thought to be too slow to show them the workings of the security fittings that came with Sport utility Vehicle. The first mistake the criminals made was to rob in broad day light (They never considered it a mistake because they were daredevil robbers) the second mistake was to have aroused the suspicion of the ever vigilant neighborhood with the piercing sound of a single gunshot.

Hurriedly, the gang left in the stolen vehicle which was their third undoing and which would end up being their costliest. Before they got to the end of the street, the security fitting of the vehicle activated causing the engine to switch of. They tried many times to restart the engine of the vehicle with the code giving to them earlier by the owner of the SUV but the code did not work. The Injured man was witty enough to give the thieves a wrong code.

The rash manner the thieves alighted and abandoned the vehicle gave them away to some nearby onlookers. With dangers looming, the thieves took to their heels in different directions. Trust Lagosians, they went after each one of them. As the thieves continued to run, the chanting crowd after them grew larger.

Within half an hour of the pursuit, the thieves had been captured. One popular thing about the jungle justice of Lagos is that even when the thieves had been captured, they would first be dragged to the scene the crime had been committed before any form of justice is performed, in this case, the criminals were dragged to the scene where they had abandoned the SUV where the justice were meted out adequately.

Within five minutes of each other, the three thieves were eventually dragged to the scene where a large number of chanting crowd had gathered. Within minutes, petrol had been donated; old tyres had been taken from a nearby vulcanizer shop. Subsequently, before anyone could say “Jack Robinson” the three thieved had been set ablaze, burnt to death before making their first appearance in a recognised and competent court of law.  The men had been caught in the web of the jungle justice that is accustomed with Lagos.