Appraisal of Jungle Justice on the Incidences of Crime in Nigeria

Abstract

The study appraised jungle justice on the incidence of crime in Nigeria. The study however focused on perceived police legitimacy (Police effectiveness, fairness and lawfulness) as predictors of support for the administration of jungle justice on criminals. The study was conducted using ninety-two (n= 92) respondents who comprised of market women, motor park loaders (agbero) and commercial drivers. The participants were made up of 60 (65.2%) males and 32 (34.8%) females. The participants’ age ranged from 23 to 49 years with a mean age of 35.67 and a standard deviation of 7.25. Two instruments were used to obtain data: Police Legitimacy Scale and Vigilantism Support Questionnaire. A cross-sectional design was used for the study and Multiple Hierarchical Regression was used to analyze the data. Results showed that Perceived Police Effectiveness (PPE) (β = .076, t = 1.185, p>.05), entered in model 2 of the equation significantly predicted support for jungle justice. Perceived Police Effectiveness accounted for 31% variance in predicting support for jungle justice (R2Δ = .04, p> .05). Perceived Police Fairness (PPF) (β = .076, t = 1.185, p>.05), entered in model 3 of the equation significantly predicted support for jungle justice. Perceived Police Fairness (PPF) accounted for 20% variance in predicting support for jungle justice (R2Δ = .04, p> .05). Perceived Police Lawfulness (PPL) (β = .076, t = 1.185, p>.05), entered in model 4 of the equation also significantly predicted support for jungle justice. Merits and demerits of the study were stated and recommendations were made.

Keywords: Crime, Fairness, Jungle justice, Legitimacy, Lawfulness, Police, Punishment.