Ritual Killing in Nigeria: Let The Carnage Stop

Not a word too much. This Op-Ed of the Nigerian newspaper ‘For God and Country LEADERSHIP’ echoes my firmest belief, my most ardent wish. I wholeheartedly share the editors’ cry for an end to ritual killings, for justice and the rule of law in Africa’s most populated country, Nigeria. Repeatedly I have drawn here attention to the fact that ritual murders are rampant in the country and I have reported numerous examples on this website. When will the Nigerian authorities, both on the federal as the state level, act accordingly? 
(webmaster FVDK)

Ritual Killing: Let The Carnage Stop

Published: March 5, 2021
By: Leadership, Nigeria – Editorial

Last week, the internet was awash, yet again, with another case of suspected mass kidnapping and ritual killings. In the suburb of Onitsha, Anambra State, a woman and her children were found, in a bizarre collaboration, with several toddlers and kids whom she randomly selected to pound in a mortar into mash and then deliver the blood-cuddling product to her clients. The self-acclaimed prophetess has since been arrested.

Such a gory tale spiced with the worst dose of cruelty and man’s inhumanity to man brings to the fore the pervasive wickedness and deceit of the human mind.Still suspected, alleged and proven cases of ritual killings, grave robbery and dealing in human parts are replete across the land. From Calabar to Maiduguri and Lagos to Sokoto such cases, reported and unreported, fill the news space and rumour mills drawing attention to tendencies towards the grotesque.

Sadly, this development is becoming scarier by the day as the young, the old, male and female share in this ugly trend, engaging in a macabre competition with kidnapping and terrorism, all of which make the land more insecure. It gores the heart that even with the alarm raised by well-meaning individuals, institutions and organisations, the situation rather than abate, persists.

In the opinion of this newspaper, it is somewhat confounding that a nation whose citizens pride themselves as the most religious and happiest on earth could descend so low into debauchery, sheer cold-blooded murder and cannibalism in the name of ritual killings. To which god(s) do the perpetrators of these evil acts offer their fellow human beings as sacrifice and for what purpose?

As unacceptable as it is, the ailing economy may present itself as a lousy excuse for those who risk such practices. Yet, it is utterly inconceivable that some do sink this abysmally low to the point of patronising all shades of nocturnal, diabolical and dubious characters including kidnappers just to get the raw materials to feed their yawning bestial desire.

In our considered opinion, it is a shame if not utterly reprehensible that motherless homes, orphanages and health institutions euphemistically referred to as baby factories have been reported to be part of the huge source which feeds the furnace of this raging conflagration of ritual killings.

We recall that, consistently, well-meaning Nigerians, religious leaders, other leaders of thought and culture enthusiasts among them have, at various times, spoken out in open condemnation of this drift towards nihilism. We urge them to do more. As a matter of urgency, they should step up the campaigns against ritual killing, an act that is not only despicable to mortals but also offensive to the Supreme Being.

It is pertinent to stress that it is time all the relevant government agencies and non-state actors took the war against ritual killing to the perpetrators. There is an urgent need to save the country from being stigmatised by this ugly stamp added to those of insecurity and corruption which are already an albatross on the neck of Nigeria. The case of baby Adam (a victim of ritual killing) confirmed to have been killed in faraway United Kingdom but whose origin was traced to Nigeria is still fresh in the mind.

Behind this ugly trend is cultism indulged in by some members of society who yield to the negative in their mindless quest for power and the penchant to be dreaded and feared. These are people who nurture the self- delusion of being in charge and in control. Their co-travellers in this trip to nothingness, in our view, are the get rich quick maniacs who go to any length to acquire wealth for the sake of it. And when they soon realise that it is all vanity, they go to their religious leaders to confess their blood oaths. The police have a right to know whose blood was used in those unwholesome rituals. The religious leaders owe it a duty to humanity to report such confessions.

While we salute the courage and gallantry of the security personnel who often put their own lives on the line trying to secure the land, it is also important to let them know that the battle will not be won until the last vestige of anti-social behaviour is extirpated from decent society.

Furthermore, we implore law-making bodies, across all the tiers of government, to enact laws (where not in existence), strengthen the hands of the law enforcement operatives, with stringent penalties and other wherewithal necessary to bring these evil elements to justice.

Source: Ritual Killing: Let The Carnage Stop

Nigeria: Man who ripped out friend’s heart for ritual says regrets not started making money yet

Man who ripped out friend’s heart for ritual says regrets not started making money yet (…) …says native doctor used the heart to prepare beans porridge for them.

Federal High Court – Abuja, Nigeria

Published on: June 12, 2018, 1:16 AM
By Esther Onyegbula, Opadiran Doyin, Okpala Amaka & Ofulue Onyedi

LAGOS—A middle-aged man, identified as Daniel, who connived with two of his colleagues to kill and rip out the heart of one of their friends, Isaiah James, for ritual purpose said his only regret is that they had not started making money from the ritual before their arrest.

According to Daniel, who was arrested in Ajah area of Lagos and is being interrogated at the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, SCIID, Panti, Yaba, alongside three others, “I do regret killing my friend. “I didn’t feel anything while I was removing his heart. Killing a human being is the same thing as an animal. My regret is that we did not succeed in making money before we were arrested.”

‘We were interested in 419’

Recounting the incident that led to them killing their friend and taking his heart, Daniel said: “We are from Chibok in Maiduguri, Borno State. Audu, Ayuba and I conspired and killed our friend, Isaiah James, for ritual purposes. “It was not our initial plan to do so. We wanted to do charms to excel in advance fee fraud, known as 419, but the native doctor we consulted told us that he won’t do charms for us with regards 419. “We asked why and he told us that we are not educated. He told us that we should be literate before we can do 419 successfully. We asked if there was an alternative and he said he would perform a ritual out of sympathy for us. “He told us to provide a human heart. That was the beginning of our problems. When the herbalist told us to bring a human heart, we told him to help us organise it. He promised to do so and charged us N100,000. We paid him N60,000 and promised to balance the N40,000. “However, trouble started few days later when the native doctor called us to say that one of his boys who he sent on the mission for the human heart was shot in the hand by vigilante group members. “He said he won’t be able to provide us with the heart and asked us to provide it ourselves.”

Killing a cousin

On how they got the victim, he said: “At this point we became confused on our next plan of action, until the gang leader, Audu, suggested that he would lure his cousin, who is also my friend, to where they would kill him and pluck out his heart for the ritual. “We called him on phone and told him to meet us at a drinking joint in Ajah, Lagos. He agreed to meet us. He did not suspect foul play and was comfortable with us. We met at night and we started drinking local gin until the wee hours. “We bought him fried yam and at about 1a.m., we said we should go home. As we were walking home, Audu, who was armed with a knife, said he was going to urinate.”

Harvesting

He continued: “The four of us, including our target, went to a corner to urinate. “It was at that point that we all attacked him, pulled him down and hit him with hard objects, while Audu stabbed him. When we noticed that he was dying, Ayuba butchered him and searched inside, but could not find the heart. I collected the knife from him and put my hand inside. “I found the heart. His heart was still beating and pumping blood, when I pulled it out with the help of the knife. “We took it to the native doctor at Ijebu Ode, Ogun State. “He used it to prepare beans for us and promised that after eating the beans porridge, we would start making big money. “He said anything we laid our hands on must prosper and requested for the N40,000 balance, which we paid him. We had just finished the meal when the Police came to pick me. “It was a lady, who saw us the night we killed Isaiah, that told his people she saw us in company of Isaiah. “When the Police came to me, I confessed. Unfortunately, the native doctor escaped before Police could apprehend him.”

Source: Vanguard, June 12, 2018
Man who ripped out friend’s heart for ritual says regrets not started making money yet (…) says native doctor used the heart to prepare beans porridge for them.

Related links:
Court remains four for ‘removing colleague’s heart, The Nation, June 12, 2018
4 in court over ‘killing’ colleague for ritual, Blueprint, June 12, 2018
Four men allegedly kill their brother, remove his heart for ritual, Daily Post, June 11, 2018

Map of Nigeria showing the 36 states