NIGERIA When the man was accused of theft, the villagers took the law into their own hands and lynched him to death. They formed a circle around him, some beating him with sticks and others throwing stones.
In extremely poor parts of the world, people are existentially dependent on the property they own. Most often, it is, for example, a motorcycle, which allows them to transport children to school, bring drinking water, or supply a market with their products. When someone tries to take this property, they take it very personally, almost as if someone tried to kill them. In their eyes, the thief deserves death.
In these countries, there is also a huge level of corruption and complete distrust in the justice system and the police. They believe that if they handed the thief over to the police, he would not be punished at all. And often, unfortunately, they are not far from the truth.
Lynching is a complete denial of human rights, including the right to a fair trial and the right to life. In these cases, however, it is hard to blame these people. They are just administering justice by all available means they have. The true culprits are usually politicians, low levels of education, and a corrupt system.
