'Take the law into your own hands, you are gone' — Naivalarua
'But if you take the law into your own hands, you are gone.'
Monday 22 September 2025 | 19:30
Minister for Policing Ioane Naivalarua has issued a stern warning to citizens: stop taking the law into your own hands or face criminal charges yourself.
His comments come after a viral video from Nausori showed bystanders allegedly assaulting a driver involved in an accident.
“We cannot afford to have a community that is full of vigilante groups. That’s not the way forward for Fiji,” Mr Naivalarua said yesterday.
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He stressed that those who resort to street justice will be held accountable.
“You should not take the law into your own hands. This is the challenge that we have now in some parts of our community. When you do that, you yourself will be confronted by the police and you are equally charged. That’s an offence by itself,” he warned.
Mr Naivalarua said Fiji’s image as a peaceful nation was at stake.
“We are known to be a very peaceful country, and we should stick to that,” he said.
Instead, he urged the public to work with the authorities.
“If you have information that will be useful to the police, you take videos of it, send it to the proper channel, that is the police station, or to the Commissioner, even to me,” Mr Naivalarua said.
“I’m available, so do that. But if you take the law into your own hands, you are gone.”
The Minister also called for higher moral standards and community support for police operations, promising improvements within the force.
“We need to maintain a respectful and strong moral, stand on strong moral grounds,” he said.
