A short video currently doing the rounds on social media shows some traders in Ogidi, Anambra State, setting upon a yet-to-be-identified member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), throwing a used tire around his neck, before proceeding to set him on fire. The specific circumstances leading to this dastardly act of immolation remain unclear, but apparently the incinerated individual was a member of the self-determination group who was trying to enforce the group’s hated stay-at-home order.

In one sense, the gory footage is a sad commentary on the state of law and order in Anambra and other southeastern states where violence has ramped up in the approach to this weekend’s general election. While the main body of IPOB appears to have moved on from the stay-at-home order which led to economic losses totaling hundreds of millions of Naira, some renegade factions of the group appear bent on continuing with it. The inevitable showdown with traders who are tired of the order and resent its deleterious impact on their business has led to a notable spike in tension.

But the footage also says a lot about the state of Nigeria as a country. It would seem that, these days, no one trusts the law to do its work again, and the benefit of the doubt is rarely extended to anyone accused of a misdemeanor. The government having ceded its territory to unknown gunmen and other non-state actors, the people have lost every sense of belief in a functional state. On the contrary, and because the situation is tense, everybody is a law unto himself, and across the country, impunity enjoys a free reign like never before.With stay-at-home orders, other restrictions and whimsical killing by the so-called unknown gunmen, life has become utterly unbearable and almost impossible for people in the South-East. Non-state actors act as overlords and the growing incapacity of the government to function as the sovereign authority within national boundaries is all too apparent.

Ordinarily, we would have appealed to the police to investigate the matter of the immolated man with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice. While that remains our position, and while we are hopeful that something may indeed be done, harsh experience has taught us not to raise our hopes. Our disenchantment notwithstanding, we wish to point out that a total breakdown of law and order, the kind being witnessed at the moment across the length and breadth of the South-East, does not bode well for anyone. It has never been more important for IPOB to separate itself from hoodlums who have no understanding of its stated political aims and are only interested in causing mayhem. At the same time, while the anger of traders who feel put upon by the stay-at-home order may be understandable, it goes without saying that taking the law into one’s own hands is a recipe for anarchy.

Nigeria cannot afford to return to the days of jungle justice. The Federal Government and the state governments in the geopolitical zone must wake up to what it means to be the superintending authority. They must act immediately to prevent total descent into anarchy; there is a real possibility of the gory tales extending to other parts of the country. For the sake of the suffering people in the South-East, it is important to work urgently and prevent total anarchy.