Amnesty International Nigeria has condemned what it described as the growing threat of mob violence and “jungle justice” in northern Nigeria, following an incident in Katsina state where a crowd reportedly besieged a court demanding the extrajudicial execution of a defendant facing a blasphemy allegation.
In a statement issued on Friday, the human rights organisation said the incident, which occurred on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in the Kofar Soro area of Katsina town, represented a serious attack on the rule of law.
According to Amnesty International, a large crowd of children and young men, allegedly armed with various weapons, surrounded the court while demanding that the accused be executed without due process.
“The standard in Nigeria is the rule of law, not ‘jungle justice,'” the organisation said, warning that such actions undermine constitutional guarantees of a fair trial regardless of the nature of the allegations against an accused person.
The organisation noted that the Katsina incident came about 10 days after the killing of Ummulkhairi, a teacher and mother of five, who was reportedly burned to death by a mob in Mararabar Jos, Kaduna State, over allegations of attempting to abduct children.
Amnesty International said the latest incident reflected an increasing disregard for due process and growing lawlessness in parts of northern Nigeria.
It expressed concern over reports that the crowd, consisting largely of children and young men, carried weapons including machetes, spears, iron rods, sledgehammers, broken bottles, daggers, bows and arrows, and knives while calling for the death of the accused.
The rights group described the participation of children in the incident as particularly alarming, saying they should be in school or acquiring vocational skills rather than being involved in acts of mob violence.
Amnesty International called on the Katsina State Government and law enforcement agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and ensure that anyone found to have incited or participated in the attempted mob violence is held accountable.
The organisation stressed that justice must be pursued through lawful judicial processes rather than violence or extrajudicial actions.