Monthly Archives: July 2020

Nigeria: ritual killing: Osun man sentenced to death by hanging

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Several Nigerian states (Osun, Ondo, Rivers) have enacted laws making it possible for judges to pronounce the death sentence for a specified number of crimes. Osun State is one of them. Ritualistic murders occur frequently in this southeastern state. Among the crimes mentioned in the law which carry the capital punishment when found guilty is murder committed for the purpose of a ‘money ritual’, as ritualistic murders are called in Africa’s most populated country.

More than one Nigerian state faces this phenomenon which seems difficult to eradicate. In my view it will not be eradicated by any severe jail sentence, not even by the capital punishment. The only solution is education, to instruct people that superstition does not lead to success, power or wealth. Nonetheless, the rule of law must apply and perpetrators of heinous crimes must pay for their deeds. (webmaster FVDK).

Ritual killing: Man sentenced to death by hanging

Published: July 7, 2020
By: The News, Nigeria 

An Osun State High Court sitting in Ile-Ife on Tuesday sentenced a 37- year-old man, Ogunyemi Oluleke, to death by hanging for murder.

Oluleke was arraigned on March 6, 2013 on two-count charge of murder and conspiracy to murder contrary to Sections 319 and 324 of Criminal Code, Laws of Osun State.

The offences were allegedly committed at Iredunmi area of Ile-Ife and at Oketase area in Ile-Ife around 10:00 a.m on Feb. 17, 2010.

At about 10:00am on Feb. 17, 2010, one Moshood Babalola was killed by cutting off his head with knife at Iredunmi area, ile-ife.

Mr Babalola Sikiru lodged the complaint of his lost son (Moshood Babalola) at More Police Station, Ile-Ife, on Feb. 18, 2010.

The Prosecution Counsel from the Ministry of Justice, Lawyer Tijani Adekilekun, called five witlessness and rendered several exhibits to prove the case.

Adekilekun also informed the court through one of his witnesses, Insp. Rasheedat Olanrewaju, that she was among the three policemen that went to a village in Agbedegbede area.

Olarewaju said that her team went to the house of the convict for a search and during the search, they saw decomposed body of one person in the convict’s house.

In his additional statement after the discovery of deceased corpse in his house on Feb., 2010, Ogunyemi confessed that he killed Moshood Babalola for rituals.

Justice Adedotun Onibokun found the accused guilty of the charges preferred against him.

The Defence Counsel, Mr Olalekan Banjo, pleaded to the court to temper justice with mercy, claiming that his client was a first offender.

Onibokun sentenced him to death by hanging.

Source: Ritual killing: Man sentenced to death by hanging

Related article:

Osun man to die by hanging for ritual killing

Published: July 8, 2020
By: Punch, Nigeria – Bola Bamigbola, Osogbo

Source: Osun man to die by hanging for ritual killing

Kenya: Uasin Gishu police arrest five following rape and murder of children – ritual murder suspected

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Another case, maybe not of a ritual murder, but of parents who fear that their child has become victim of a ritual murder. We always have to be careful in labelling a murder as a ritualistic act based on superstition, but it is striking that as soon as a mutilated body has been found local people think of a ritualistic killing. A very telling signal. One of their basic human rights is the right to live without fear. For this reason I have included the case below. (webmaster FVDK).

Uasin Gishu police arrest five following rape and murder of children

Nominated MCA Belinda Tirop (left) with Ms Loice Muthoni, Ms Sharon Sakwa and Ms Caroline Naliaka Nabiswa whose children’s murders remain unsolved. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Published: July 7, 2020
By: Daily Nation, Kenya – Titus Ominde     

Police in Moi’s Bridge have arrested five people on suspicion of being serial killers and defilers.

Five children have been found murdered in the town in seven months.

The arrests came after protests by Nominated Ward Representative Belinda Tirop and area residents.

Locals say the crimes could be linked to ritual killings.

Uasin Gishu county police chief Johnston Ipara praised the residents of Soy Sub-County for providing information that led to the arrests.

He added that more people would be arrested and prosecuted.

MISSING FOR A MONTH

The county police boss said the five have already appeared in court as police pursue two other people still at large.

“Detectives on the ground are gathering crucial information to link the pair to the ones who have already been arrested,” he said.

Early in the year, a man and his daughter were arraigned for the murder of a 12-year-old girl.

The two were freed when the prosecution said it could not link them to the heinous crime. 

Mr Ipara said those freed by courts are still being investigated.

“We have not given up on the suspects. They could be rearrested,” the county police commander said.

MUTILATED BODY

Two weeks ago, the mutilated body of Grace Njeri, who had been missing for a month, was found in a thicket.

This was the fifth child killing in six months.

 On December 31, Ms Sharon Sakwa’s daughter was killed in a similar fashion.

The girl, Stacy Nabiswa, was a Standard Five pupil.

She disappeared on New Year’s Eve and her body found near the railway line the following day.

Ms Sakwa accused police of doing little to apprehend the perpetrators of the crimes.

Thirteen-year-old Lucy Wanjiru was defiled and killed on January 16.

Her mother, a greengrocer, was at the market when the murder occurred.

FREED FOR LACK OF EVIDENCE

Wanjiru’s stepfather was arrested but released later due to lack of evidence.

The girl was a Standard Six pupil at Moi Township Primary School.

Two weeks ago, local leaders and residents held a demonstration on the Kitale-Eldoret road to protest the killings. They accused security agents of doing little to stop them.

In response to the protests, Mr Ipara urged residents to provide information that would lead to arrests and prosecutions.

Mr Ipara, however, challenged parents to monitor their children.

“Let us be responsible and watchful if we are to eradicate these incidents,” Mr Ipara said.

He advised families to ensure children do not go to the shop or market unaccompanied.

Source: Uasin Gishu police arrest five following rape and murder of children

Liberia: adolescent girl tortured, accused of witchcraft

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I’ve hesitated to include the article below on this blog – partly because of the gruesome nature of the described act, partly because of the graphic description of the treatment, obviously a form of torture, which family members inflicted upon a girl they accused of witchcraft and being responsible for the death of an uncle.

Eventually I decided to reproduce the article here and to share it with a larger audience. The reason why I choose to do so is because witchcraft lies at the bottom of their repulsive behavior. This site is focusing on superstition and everything which relates to it in a criminal way: ritualistic acts, ritual murders, ‘money rituals’ (Nigeria), muti murders (in Southern Africa), and – indeed – witchcraft. The fact that the ultimate victim, a young and innocent girl, was maltreated and tortured was another reason for drawing attention to this incident. Unfortunately, rape is a daily crime in Liberia and most perpetrators get away with their crimes. In Liberia, impunity seems to be the rule, and not the rule of law.

Therefore, again a warning: the following article contains graphic details of a form of torture (webmaster FVDK).

Liberia: Adolescent Girl Sodomized After Being Thrown Out for Witchcraft

Published: July 3, 2020
By: FrontPage Africa 

MONROVIA – A girl believed in her late teens has been sexually assaulted in her anus after she was thrown out of her family in Omega Tower Community on accusation on her being witchcraft.

According to a source close to the family, the incident occurred on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 night when she was asleep.

The girl (name withheld) was discovered early Wednesday morning lying helpless on the main road that links Montserrado to Margibi, crying for rescue.

Some community members felt pity for her, took her from the street, gave her food and water. They at the same time called the Women and Children Division of the Liberia National Police to take the survivor to hospital for treatment.

Her current condition has left community members blaming her family for neglecting her and throwing her out of the house after alleging that she confessed killing her 25 years old uncle (name withheld) in May of this year after a brief period of illness.           

A family source interviewed by this paper narrated that after the death of the uncle, the survivor and her partners were tortured and beaten badly on grounds that they are responsible for his death. This, according to the source, caused her mother and father to escape with her other siblings leaving her at the mercy of the family.

“During the night when her uncle died,” the eyewitness said, “that child was beaten by his family and a man who claimed to be a big man in the Liberia Drugs Enforcement Agency (LDEA) at which time they broke one of her legs.”

“After all the torture, they still threw her out of the house, they forgot to even take into consideration the danger it poses to her health, not only the aspect of rape.”  

“I do not know why people find pleasure in accusing innocent children of the act of witchcraft when, in fact, there is no way they can prove their accusations,” the eyewitness said in pity.

The eyewitness said after the death of the survivor’s uncle the family members brought a native doctor who said that girl and her partners were responsible for his death.

“After the native doctor was brought here, the family said that the girl confessed that she and her partners killed her uncle because he means them with food,” the eyewitness said.

The eyewitness expressed deep frustration in said aptitude adding that “I do not know who the man that did such a wicked act to a child in such condition.”

According to the eyewitness, the LNP Children Division was able to take the child to the hospital.

“What we are praying for now is not just the treatment of the child but an investigation being done to bring the perpetrator to justice and even the family because they were the ones who exposed her to such danger.”            

In Liberia, rape has become the order of the day with few out of many girls who have suffered such horrible acts from their male counterparts are lucky to get the needed justice.

With many perpetrators understanding that the justice system is very weak, they go ahead to sexually abused girls and walk in the street with impunity.

Source: Liberia: Adolescent Girl Sodomized After Being Thrown Out for Witchcraft

Nigeria: ‘How I killed children, sold their body parts to ritualists’ – suspect confesses

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The articles reproduced below show the perversity of ritual murders in Nigeria, usually for purposes of ‘money rituals’. Ritual murderers, who resort to human sacrifices to become rich or famous, are criminals, there is no doubt about it. What happens nowadays in Nigeria, and also in other Sub-Saharan countries where notably albino people are targeted, shows even a different kind of ritual murderers. They kill purely for material gain, to sell human body parts thus obtained. A repulsive practice, which in this case is based on the superstition of the buyer of the body parts. A crucial role is played by the ritualist or traditional doctor, the witch doctor, as is shown by the articles below. They should all be locked up, but – even more important – people should be educated that there is no place for superstition in the 21st century. (webmaster FVDK)

How I killed children, sold their body parts to ritualists – Suspect confesses

Published: July 3, 2020
By: Daily Post Nigeria – Fikayo Owololagba

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Oyo State Command, has arrested a 29-year-old, suspect over alleged kidnapping and murder.

The suspect was arrested after the police received a tip-off from commercial motorcycle riders around the area.

The command’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Olufemi Adetunji, disclosed this to newsmen on Friday, at the NIS office, Agodi-Gate, Ibadan, while handing over the suspect to the police command in the state.

The suspect whose identity was not revealed in an interview with NAN confessed that he was not only involved in duping, but also in kidnapping and selling of human parts to ritualists.

He confessed that he enticed children with biscuits on the streets and lured them into their cars.

The suspect, a resident of Beere, Oje area in Ibadan was a member of a gang of nine, comprised of two females and seven males that carry out operations.

He added that he had killed at least two children, and sold their parts to suspected ritualists.

“We have a car which we use for kidnapping. We buy biscuits and other things and keep them in the car, which we used to entice the children.

“Anytime we see little children walking on the road unaccompanied by an adult, we entice them with biscuits and quickly put them in the car and zoom off.

“We later kill the kidnapped children and sell their parts to the ritualists,” he added.

Source: How I killed children, sold their body parts for rirualists – Suspect confesses

Related article:

‘We kill children, sell their body parts’ – suspect confesses as he was arrested by Immigration officer

Published: July 3, 2020
By: Opera News

The Nigerian Immigration services has arrested a 29-year-old suspect, Lekan Raheem, for killing and selling children’s body parts to ritualists. After his arrest, the suspects confessed that his gang had killed some children and sold their body parts for ritual purposes. According to the suspect, the Ritualist require the body parts for ritual purposes.

The suspect made the confession to the Nigerian Immigration services after being interogated. After the confession, he was handed over to the police. According to the confessional statement of the suspect, him and his gang usually lure innocent children with biscuits and kidnapped them.

The suspect confessed that he was not only involved in duping people, but he also kidnapped, kill and selling human parts to ritualists. According to reports, the suspect lives at Oje area of Ibadan. The gang members includes 9 members including 2 females and 7 males.

The suspect went on to say that anytime his gang members see little children walking alone, they lure them with biscuits. The children are quickly dragged into their car and they quickly take them away. The Oyo State Nigerian Immigration services Public Relations Officer, Olufemi Adetunji disclosed that the suspect was arrested following a tip off by some people.

Source: We kill Children, Sell Their Body Parts -Suspect confesses As He Was Arrested By Immigration officer