The Esu-Karu, Luka Panya and security agents on Wednesday warned residents of Karu, in Nasarawa State, against taking laws into their own hands (jungle justice).

Mr 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.

The monarch said it was his duty to ensure that residents were safe.

“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 and warned that no act of jungle justice would be tolerated any longer in the community.

He said that Karu was a sensitive town close to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and expressed his fears that if the situation was not well managed, it could escalate to religious or ethnic crises.

Mr Jatau advised the people to be careful in raising false alarms as anyone seen at the scene where jungle justice was being carried out would be charged to court.

Similarly, Francis Obigwa, the police area commander in charge of Karu, said the issue of alleged stolen genitals, which had been proven to be untrue medically, was becoming overwhelming.

According to Mr Obigwa, there have been ongoing arrests as regards the case, and both the suspect and victims will be charged to court.

He said that some persons now capitalised on the trending issue to commit other crimes, adding that the police were always on alert to deal with such individuals.

(NAN)