A monarch, the Esu Karu of Karu, Nassarawa State, Luka Payan and security agents, on Wednesday, warned residents of Karu against taking laws into their own hands and avoiding all forms of ‘jungle justice.’
Panya said this at a meeting with security agents, traditional rulers, community, religious, motorcycle and tricycle leaders, following the recent bizarre story of stolen genitals.
He said that in the last three weeks, there had been incidents of stolen genitals around Karu, Masaka, Ado, New Nyanya and the latest in Sharp Corner, where the suspect and his car were burnt.
He stressed that it was his duty to ensure that his subjects were safe because the essence of leadership is to ensure that the community is peaceful and attains the required development.
“We have a duty to talk to our people so we know how to manage these issues of stolen genitals, so we don’t take laws into our hands.
“I urge every representative, especially the chairman of the motorcycle/tricycle riders association to pass the message to their people.
“There is no society that is free of crime, but there are ways to handle these through security agencies, not jungle justice because anybody can be affected,’’ the Esu said.
In his contribution, Prince Jatau, a security agent, called for sensitisation of the rural populace.
Jatau warned that no act of jungle justice would be tolerated any longer in the community.
He said that Karu was a sensitive town and close to the Federal Capital Territory, and therefore, expressed his fears that if the present situation was not well managed, could escalate to religious or ethnic crises.
Jatau advised the people to be careful not to raise false alarms as anyone seen at the scene where jungle justice was being carried out, would be charged to court too.
Similarly, the Police Area Commander in charge of Karu, Francis Obigwa, said that the issue of alleged stolen genitals, which had been proven to be untrue medically, was becoming overwhelming.
According to Obigwa, there have been ongoing arrests regarding the case and both the suspect and victims will be charged in court.
He said that some persons were now capitalising on the trending issue to commit all manner of crimes, adding that the police are on the alert to deal with such individuals.
Meanwhile, the Chairman, Motorcycle/Tricycle Riders Association, Bahago Na’Allah, had assured the Esu and the security agents that the association was working toward ensuring that its members conducted themselves in an orderly manner by not taking the law into their own hands.