The murder for ritual purposes of Favour Daley-Oladela in 2019 led to much unrest as well as a wave of articles on the terror of so-called ‘money rituals’ in Nigeria. For briefness sake I may refer here to my posting of January 9, 2020 ‘A selection of articles on the ritual murder of Favour Daley-Oladele, Nigeria’.
As a reminder I will recall what basically happened on the fateful day in December 2019 when the innocent university student was brutally murdered. Favour Daley-Oladele, a final year student of Lagos State University (LASU), was murdered and partly cannibalized for a ritualistic motive, a ‘money ritual’, by her boyfriend Owolabi Adeeko, aided by Philip Segun, a white garment church pastor and his mother, Mrs. Bola Adeeko.
Last month, a High Court found both men guilty of conspiracy and murder and sentenced them to death by hanging for murder (Owolabi Adeeko) and 14 years imprisonment (Philip Segun) for conspiracy. The court also found Bola, Owolabi’s mother, guilty of eating human flesh and sentenced her to two years imprisonment.
Read the full article below. Warning: the article may upset readers because of its shocking and graphic contents. (FVDK)
The long arm of justice, after three years, finally caught up with killers and eaters of Favour Daley-Oladele, a final year student of Lagos State University, brutally murdered and used for “victory soup” ritual concoction by her boyfriend, Owolabi Adeeko, and a prophet, Segun Philip.
Last month, a High Court found Owolabi and Segun guilty of conspiracy and murder and sentenced them to death by hanging for murder and 14 years imprisonment for conspiracy.
The court also found Bola, Owolabi’s mother, guilty of eating human flesh and sentenced her to two years imprisonment.
Favour, a student of Theatre Arts, was in a final semester and at home to meet her parents before Owolabi put a call to her to meet him, so they could meet his uncle at Ikoyi in Isokan local government area of Osun State.
The deceased, who had attended church service on the day, also spoke with her father who wished her success in her final examinations before setting out on the fateful trip.
Before leaving home on that day, she also informed her mother that she was going back to school but will also be seeing a friend on her way and the mother never knew that the friend would eventually use her for “victory soup” and together with his mother “eat her up for their own good”.
Days after leaving home, Favour’s parents became apprehensive having tried to reach her on phone severally and were not successful, an unusual character, hence, they reached out to her friends in school who told them she had not returned to school.
The parents had to report a missing person at a police station in Mowe, Ogun State.
Meanwhile, Owolabi and Prophet Philip had concluded plans on how to kill the missing girl and butcher her for ritual soup.
She had journeyed all the way from Mowe to Osun and, upon arrival, she was lodged in a hotel in Ikoyi but rather than allow her rest upon complaint of tiredness, the boyfriend urged her to meet his supposed uncle before she would later come back to the hotel for a complete rest.
At a church, which is secluded from the rest of the community, Favour still complained of the need to rest and her boyfriend urged her to enter into the partial wooden building to rest while he and his prophet accomplice concluded their talk before returning to the hotel.
While Owolabi and Segun chatted outside the building they took time to check on the poor lady and having been sure that she was fully asleep, Owolabi took a pestle and smashed it on her head. Thereafter, the prophet cut her opened and took the vital organs needed for the ritual soup.
Arrest
After Favour’s parents reported that she was missing at the police division in Mowe, the Divisional Police Officer assembled a team of detectives to find her.
The team, according to Ogun Police Command spokesperson, tracked her phone to her last destination, hence, the team mounted surveillance in the town and further tracked the last location of the phone to the church where the prophet was arrested.
The cleric informed the police that the deceased was brought to him by Owolabi who was still in the hotel where he lodged. They were both arrested after Christmas in 2019.
‘I lured her to Ikoyi to kill’
After his arrest, Owolabi told police detectives that he lured the victim to Osun under the pretence to meet his uncle and spend more time together.
He added that she travelled down because of the trust she had in him as the victim had not embarked on such journey before that one which eventually was her last.
His confessional statement which was tendered in court “I called Favour on December 8, 2019 to meet me at Ikoyi-Ile so that we could spend time together. She met me at an hotel in the area, but immediately she got there, she started complaining that she was tired and needed to rest.
“I told her that we needed to visit my dad’s younger brother before she would rest. It was a lie. I tricked her into going to the church of Segun. When we got to the church, again, she complained that she wanted to sleep, so, I asked her to go into the church and rest.
“When she slept off, I used a pestle to smash her in the head and she died. After we confirmed she was dead, Pastor Segun slaughtered her and removed the vital organs from her body which he used to prepare concoction for me and my mum to eat.
“Despite what we ate, things have not improved till I was arrested. My mum’s business has not improved after what we did and despite all our efforts. I think the money ritual did not work”.
He added that his mother was not aware of his evil plans and was made to believe that she was eating ritual soup prepared from goat’s organs.
Owolabi agreed to face the consequences of his actions but asserted that punishing his mother would amount to an injustice.
On his part, Segun admitted to cutting the deceased open after her boyfriend had killed her, removed her vital organs to prepare the spiritual meal for mother and son to be victorious of spiritual attacks.
His words also admitted as confession in court: “It is true I slaughtered Favour with a knife. I removed her heart, breasts, and other vital organs so we could use them for rituals. But, I was not the one that smashed her head with a pestle. Owolabi did it.
“We deceived Mrs Adeeko that the concoction was prepared with goat’s organs. She was not aware we used human parts in the concoction I gave her. I prepared the ritual for them because I was broke and I needed money. I demanded N250,000 but was paid N210, 000.
“I was called by God, but I think I have lost the call because of what I did”.
Owolabi’s mother, Bola, said she was not aware a human was killed in a bid for her to overcome her spiritual challenges.
According to her, she was made to believe the concoction she ate was prepared from goat meat.
Exhuming body
Following their arrest and confession, Owolabi and Segun told the police that the remains of Favour were buried in the church building. The entire community was thrown into frenzy when the remains were exhumed from a shallow grave close to the building.
The already decomposing body was packed in a body bag and transported to Ogun State with a view to delivering it to the family after autopsy.
Arraignment
The three suspects were first arraigned before an Osun State Magistrate Court in November 2020 after investigation by the police on two counts of conspiracy and murder.
They were later arraigned before a High Court sitting in Ikire.
The prosecution, led by Adekemi Bello, called nine witnesses during trial to establish conspiracy and murder charges against the suspects who testified for themselves.
At the end of trial, Justice Christiana Obadina found Owolabi and Segun guilty of conspiracy and murder.
She sentenced the Prophet and Owolabi to death by hanging for murder and 14 years imprisonment for conspiracy.
The trial judge also found Bola, Owolabi’s mother, guilty of eating human flesh and sentenced her to two years imprisonment.
Reaction
The Onikoyi of Ikoyi-Ile, Oba Yisau Oyetunji, said the community is peaceful and the people peace loving.
He maintained that the killer-prophet is not an indigene of the community.
The monarch stressed that churches should be properly registered with a view to identifying and preventing such horrible incident.
“From my findings, the self-acclaimed pastor is not an indigene of Ikoyi. The fellow who took the lady to the place, his mother and the victim are also not from Ikoyi”, he said.
“My plea to religious leaders and residents of Ikoyi and Osun State in general is to be vigilant. We should take up responsibility to secure our areas.
“If we see any strange faces or movements, we should try and do our findings on them. Our surveillance should not be restricted to strangers alone. We should not be silent on the issue of security. We should report to the police anyone constituting security risk”.
Meanwhile, the sentencing of the killers means a proper closure to a sad tale for Favour’s parents as justice appears to have been served.
The following article is highly recommended reading, excellent work by Victor Ayeni!
In Nigeria, nearly every day ‘money rituals’ are reported, maybe not surprising in view of the country’s large population of well over 200 million people – Africa’s largest – even though just one ritual murder is already one too much. However, on the other hand, it could well be that the cases known and reported are only the tip of an iceberg.
But what do we know about ‘money rituals’, as ritual murders are being called in this part of the African continent? Most articles reporting on these crimes, which are driven by greed – for power, prestige or wealth – and based on superstition, are superficial. It is hard to find an article which treats this phenomenon in depth and in a serious way. The Nigerian journalist Victor Ayeni has done a great job and he’s to be commended for this achievement.
The traditional history of ritualistic killings and human sacrifices point to protection of the community’s interest by sacrificing one of its members. Cruel as this might be in our eyes nowadays, in the 21st century, back then relatives of the victim may have been proud of their family member’s contribution to the community. We see nowadays in many parts of the African continent that the ritualistic act which demands the death of the victim is for the (pretended, aimed) benefit of one person only who thus wants to increase his or her power, wealth or health. Moreover, the victim is often picked at random. Involuntary, the victim is attacked and tortured, what results is a gruesome, a wicked crime. Sometimes, specific groups are targeted, e.g. people with albinism, hunchbacks or bald people.
In some countries ambitious politicians tend to resort to these practices in the hope of increasing their political chances and success, resulting an increase in ritual murders during election campaigns. It’s a shocking reality – even though we don’t known the full scale of it.
‘Money rituals’ in Nigeria show another characteristic: some people consider it a business model, which enables them to ‘earn’ money from superstitious people who believe that by using another man’s organs or other body parts, ‘juju’ will be created, to their personal benefit.
Victor Ayeni explains well how this works in Nigeria. A very informative article which ends with the question ‘Are money rituals real or a fiction?’
The reader may answer this question for him- or herself after reading Ayeni’s valuable article. (webmaster FVDK)
Money ritual seekers’ dark walk into deceit, misery
Published: March 18, 2023 By: Victor Ayeni, Punch – Nigeria
VICTOR AYENI explores the subject of money ritual in popular culture, religious houses, and Nollywood movies, why the purveyors of the belief succeed in deceiving youths, and its implications on the public
The apprehension in the air was so thick that one could cut through it with a knife as Olajide (surname withheld) narrated his journey through a maze of confusion.
The 27-year-old graduate was helping a friend manage a pig farm in Osogbo, Osun State, when another friend introduced him to Internet scam, which in Nigerian lingo is called Yahoo Yahoo.
But his experience shocked the wits out of him.
“I was being paid N10,000 per month at the farm, but the money couldn’t meet my needs as time went on, so a friend of mine bought me an iPhone and from there, I was introduced to Yahoo Yahoo.
“I started off on a neutral ground and I was getting little money from my clients (victims), but after like three months into it, things became so tough that I couldn’t fend for myself again. I explained my situation to a friend and he took me to an Alfa (cleric),” Olajide recalls, shaking his head in disbelief.
This Alfa was known in Yahoo boys’ circles to be adept in the art of money magic – an occult economy that involves the performance of rituals to supernaturally conjure money.
Abode of fear
When Olajide described his financial difficulties to the Alfa, he was given two options.
“Alfa said he would help me out with small osole. I asked what he meant by that and he explained that osole (spiritual assistance) is different from oso (human body parts).
“Alfa told me oso required the use of human parts for material wealth with repercussions such as untimely death or insanity, whereas osole required the use of plants and animals for the same purpose but with lesser repercussions like being poor. I opted for osole,” he added.
Olajide was instructed to pay a sum of N12,000 into the cleric’s bank account for the materials and return in four days.
Five days later, when Olajide put a call through to the Alfa, he was asked to return for the materials.
He said, “When I got there, he gave me a small black soap and told me to find small palm oil and go to a flowing river to bathe that I had to cleanse myself first before I would use the materials.
“He explained to me that the soap was made with pepper mixed with some herbs and directed me to rub the palm oil on my body first before bathing with the soap. He warned that if I didn’t use the palm oil first, I was going to disappear and I would not be seen again. So, I did as I was told.”
Olajide said he complied with all the instructions.
“When I went back to him, he gave me three different materials: a soap to bath with every morning by 4am, a potion which I must swallow daily after taking my bath, and a powdery mixture to be licked every night before I go to bed.
“He said the herbal concoction was made from animals like crow, chameleon, cat, pigeon, and some leaves. He also told me that I would experience more hardship during the first two or three months of using the ritual materials, but I should endure it because after that, the tide will turn and money will be flowing in from my clients,” he added.
The idea of recipients conjuring money through magic is a familiar theme in many Nigerian films and religious houses.
Whether through animal sacrifices or trafficking in human parts, it is erroneously believed that these rites bring stupendous wealth to those who practice them.
When our correspondent inquired from Olajide if the magic worked, and in what specific ways the money came to him, he was silent.
When he spoke, he recalled faithfully following all the instructions given to him, but for the next two months, as the cleric predicted, he experienced serious financial hardship.
At this point, he said his friend introduced him to a client (victim), who had been defrauded several times.
Olajide then began to siphon money from the victim.
The inexplicable ease with which his ‘client’ gave him money implied that he (client) had been hypnotised.
“I ended up getting plenty money from this client. The cleric had assured me of having lots of money from osole, but he advised me to return to him for an upgrade of the ritual by paying N450,000, saying I would be making millions of naira after using the alleged ‘upgraded’ soap.
“But I didn’t go back because I asked my friend who took me there about what the new upgrade entails since that was what he did, and he warned me sternly against it because of the repercussions behind it.
“He said once I bathe with the ‘upgraded’ soap the cleric would prescribe, I could only wear the clothes and shoes I had and I must not change them for the next two years,” he added.
Four months after he dabbled in osole, Olajide realised that his fortunes began to dwindle as reality pulled the plug on his gravy train.
He said, “Things suddenly turned sour after four months. The client I was getting money from was arrested and ended up in jail and I no longer had any financial link. I ended up becoming more broke than before.
“My friend found me another client but I ended up wasting money rather than gaining some. Then, I was taken to another voodoo practitioner. This one said he would perform a ritual for me but one of its conditions was that I must never have sex with more than one girlfriend for the next three years and if I did otherwise, I would run mad.
“It was then I decided to withdraw from this stuff and went back into teaching for some time. Later on, I was introduced to the crypto business that I now do.”
The poverty factor
The belief in gaining wealth through mystical practices has gained much appeal over the decades in Nigeria with the exponential rise in poverty and lack of equal economic opportunities, especially for young people.
According to the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index Survey released by the National Bureau of Statistics, 63 per cent of Nigerians, which account for 133 million citizens, are multi-dimensionally poor due to a lack of access to health, education, living standards, employment, and security.
The unemployment rate in Nigeria has not only increased constantly in the past years, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group has also projected that the country’s unemployment rate will hit 37 per cent in 2023.
However, investigations by Saturday PUNCH showed that many Nigerians fervently believe that they can make a lot of money regardless of the dire economic situations in the country through a supernatural supply of money.
Ritual killings
In Nigeria, there are various tales around wealth creation that foster the concept of one becoming rich through the manipulation of metaphysical forces in nature.
Among the Yoruba, South-West Nigeria, there is the aworo phenomenon that is believed to draw large patronage to a trader in a marketplace.
There is also awure (wealth booster) which can be prepared as a traditional soap or concoction.
Research shows that many Nigerians plank their belief in money rituals on mostly unverified reports.
This has drawn many into desperate measures, including taking the lives of close family members and friends.
In December 2021, a suspected Internet fraudster from Edo State, identified only as Osas, allegedly murdered his girlfriend, Elohor Oniorosa, for ritual purposes.
In November 2022, another Yahoo boy, alongside his herbalist, one Ike, aka Ogenesu, was arrested after policemen recovered suspected human parts at the herbalist’s place in Obiaruku, in the Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State.
But Ogun State appeared to have the highest number of reported incidents of such killings.
For instance, the state recorded at least 15 cases of ritual killings between January 2022 and 2023.
In January, the Ogun State Police Command arrested a 36-year-old herbalist, Taiwo Ajalorun, who reportedly confessed to the gruesome killing of a 26-year-old mother of two and two others in the Ijebu Ode area of the state.
On December 28, 2022, in the Ijebu-Ode area of the state, a gang reportedly killed three women, including a girlfriend of one of them, after sleeping with her.
In February 2022, two suspected criminals who were alleged to be ritualists were set ablaze by an angry mob for being in possession of human parts in Oja-Odan in the Yewa-North Local Government Area of the state.
Also, in October 2022, two suspected Internet fraudsters allegedly killed a 40-year-old man, Abdullahi Azeez, in Owode-Egba.
But probably the most pathetic was that of some teenagers who were caught burning the head of a female, Sofia, whom they killed for money ritual in the Oke Aregba area of Abeokuta.
One of the teenagers, Soliu Majekodunmi, who was Sofia’s boyfriend, said in January 2022 that he learnt the practice through Facebook.
Majekodunmi said he typed, ‘How to make money ritual’ on Facebook and got the details, adding that the link instructed him to behead and burn a female skull in a local pot.
Shaman or sham man?
Our correspondent found many Facebook accounts and groups created for seekers of money rituals.
Most of the social media pages had photographs of new naira notes placed in African traditional pots, calabashes, and cowrie-strewn bags, and some showed animal blood splattered on the ground around them.
Posing as a school teacher, our correspondent reached out to one of the acclaimed shamans, Babatunde (surname withheld), who resided in Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State.
In his response, he introduced his shrine as the ‘Arab Money Family’ and sent his phone number to our correspondent.
In a rather confident tone, Babatunde said, “If you are ready, even if it is this night, you will pay me and I will get the materials ready to start the ritual work for you. Most of my ritual work is done overnight and by tomorrow, it will be completed and your money will come out.
“You will send me your bank account, photograph, and full name, and you will be receiving money in your account. You will be receiving cash thrice every two weeks.”
When our correspondent inquired whether it is spirits that would be sending the money, he interjected in a mildly exasperated tone, “Listen, I will prepare the money here in my shrine and the money will be entering your account.”
He sent his ritual material price list and asked our correspondent to select the amount of money he wishes to receive in his bank account.
The list says, “N15,500 for N200,000; N20,000 for N300,000; N30,500 for N500,000; N50,000 for N1million; N75,000 for N5million; N90,000 for N20million; and N120,000 for N50 million.”
When our correspondent selected “N20,000 for N300,000,” he reiterated that his brand of ‘money magic’ utilises native materials instead of human blood.
“I make money without human blood and I only make use of native materials. I only make use of materials called ‘Cash of Hope’ and the ‘Money Drawer Oil.’
“Mind you, my work does not require any side effects or human being blood for sacrifice or repercussions, okay? Never say never to the high spirit.
“You don’t need to travel down for the ritual; I will just send them to you and you will get your money, but you must come down to my shrine with a token of appreciation for my work, any amount your heart chooses,” Babatunde added.
When the reporter complained about being unable to afford the cost of the ritual material, the magician urged him to find the money by any means possible and contact him when ready.
Babatunde was also observed to regularly post videos on his Facebook and WhatsApp statuses featuring ‘clients’ who claim to have acquired money through his rituals but the veracity of their claims could not be confirmed.
The second acclaimed money magician, who resides in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, goes by the Facebook name, Iya Ifa Bomi.
In this case, our correspondent posed as a greenhorn ‘Yahoo boy’ and asked her for spiritual assistance in order to obtain money from his ‘clients.’
She said, “You mean you are talking to your clients and they are not giving you money? I can perform a ritual for you and it will involve the use of big Titus fish, pepper, and some fresh leaves, but it will cost you N25,000.
“When you have the money, you can come to Ogbomoso and pick up the materials. I will prepare them for you. I have done this for many Yahoo boys like you and they all come back to testify that their clients are cooperating although some of them are ingrates. We also have some of us who do this work who are scammers and have made people not trust our works.”
Another cleric contacted by our correspondent, Alfa Abdulmumeen Aremu, advertised himself as a practitioner of “money rituals for engineers, contractors, business owners and ‘Yahooboys.’”
He first demanded a sum of N2,000 and told our correspondent to send his full name and his mother’s name for spiritual consultation before he could recommend osole to him.
In a voice note, he explained, “There are different types of osole and I perform them for people like you, so don’t worry, I am adept in this work. Send me those things first and I will do some consultations to know your destiny in five minutes and I will revert to you.”
Our correspondent sent him a pseudonym along with the name of his late grandmother.
After some minutes, Aremu sent a voice note saying, “I can see you have a very bright destiny but you have some enemies. They are divided into two: some from your family and others from your workplace.
“You will cook ritual meals like rice and semo with tasty stew and give them to the children in your community. They will eat it with relish, and some of them will go to sleep. After you do that, you will be spiritually clean and we can proceed to the next stage.”
Divergent beliefs
A student of Business Administration, Kazeem Akinpelu, says money rituals are real.
“If they have not been working, people will no longer be practicing them. I grew up in Ibadan, Oyo State, and I know of a market where they sell human parts at night.
“The people selling in this particular market practice voodoo and they are patronised by those who perform money rituals. There was also one time the body parts of a lynched motorcyclist here in Ibadan were used by ritualists,” he added.
However, a civil servant, Nnamdi Okeke, dismissed money rituals as a fantasy that existed only in the realm of make-believe.
“Well, I have not come across any money rituals and I haven’t thought of doing such either. I don’t believe there is anything like ‘blood money.’
“Someone can watch a film and tell you the story, but no cult will tell you what to bring if you have not passed through their ranks, and that is if such things exist, because I don’t believe in them. The question is, the person who wants to make you rich, why is he poor and even why are their children not rich?” he asked.
Similarly, a medical scientist, Mike Okechukwu, said the whole concept of ritual killing boiled down to superstition.
“People would believe what they want to believe to obtain money. Desperate people will employ desperate measures. For me though, I don’t think ritual killings are effective; I have not seen any proof to make me believe so. It all boils down to superstition,” he stated.
But a sales representative, who gave her name as Judith for security reasons, said she once dated a man whom she believed was involved in such rituals.
She said, “I was dating this Yahoo-Yahoo guy and one day, I visited him unannounced and found that he didn’t want me to go inside his room. He was just acting weird that day.
“But while I stood at the door, he didn’t know I saw a native pot placed on the floor. From that day on, I began to suspect him and that was what made me leave him eventually because I don’t want anybody to use me for money rituals.”
Money ritual mirage
Commenting on popular beliefs about money rituals, a Professor of Philosophy of Religion at the Lagos State University, Danoye Oguntola-Laguda, said herbalists appeal to Internet scammers for pecuniary gain.
He said, “My experience is that there is nothing called money rituals. What many people mistake for money rituals is the prayer for getting rich. That could definitely involve some sacrifices of animals or birds or cooking for the whole community (saara) which brings the blessing of feeding multitudes and people may not be able to determine how you become rich.
“I don’t want to say that those who believe in osole or perform oso are wrong because there are a lot of myths that point in that direction, but if you ask many of them to tell you or show you the real thing, you will see that they have nothing to show.
“I want to say that most of these traditionalists do not even know that those who consult them are ‘Yahoo boys.’ They just see them as people seeking a way to be rich and they do a ritual, pray for them and tell them to go and kill one goat. The babalawos are also human beings who have families to feed so when they see a victim with such a proposal, they grab it with both hands.”
Oguntola-Laguda also explained the difference between religious practice and occultism.
“Religion is experiential; it is about your experience. If I tell you that prayer doesn’t work, it’s because I tried it and it didn’t work and if I tell you that it works, it’s because I tried it and it worked for me.
“There is a need to separate occultism from religious practices. Occultism is the appropriation of spiritual agents, who in most cases are negative, and it’s not limited to African traditional religion; it is something that cuts across the board.
“Many religious people appropriate these negative spiritual agents for these money rituals and power to be able to do things that are extraordinary, like the power to be able to tell the sun to go down or to tell the rain to stop.
“So, it is occult people that will tell you that they will make you rich and invite a spiritual agent to do that for you but they always come with a price and that is what many people have come to call oso or osole.
“In the past, in Yoruba traditional society, the wizard who is called oso doesn’t mean he is rich but has power appropriated through spiritual agents that he deploys for good or evil of society,” he added.
Nollywood magical realism
The scenarios of materially wealthy people enmeshed in sinister rituals and pacts with spirits, is a recurring theme in Nollywood plots.
Findings by Saturday PUNCH revealed that whether in the predominantly Muslim North or the largely Christian South, many religious Nigerians believe in the reality of an unseen world, and the fictive representations from Nollywood plots have heavily shaped their perceptions of reality.
A Nollywood screenwriter, Mr Abiola Omolokun, argued that the depictions of money rituals in films are a true representation of Yoruba culture.
He said, “First, I don’t write such stories, but they are true representations of reality. Money rituals are real and are reflected in our cultural beliefs; they are not fiction.
“We tell a story just to teach morals and make people see things differently. Our stories make them know that for every action, there are consequences.
“Through our movies, we teach that patience is a virtue that youths need to walk on the right path, and in due time, with hard work and perseverance, everything will lead to success.”
However, a researcher in African Studies, Akin Faleye, contended that such stories lack historical precedent and are fraudulent.
“As a student of global history, I will say that there is no evidence that the Yoruba practised money rituals in the pre-colonial time. All these stories of money rituals are fraudulent and emanated from psychopaths rather than people with some actual spiritual knowledge of how to make money,” he stated.
Money rituals in other cultures
In some other cultures, what could be termed as money rituals are often symbolic acts or dramas that appeal to psychological and cosmic powers through an application of symbolic structures.
In Ireland, there is a tradition of taking a piece of straw from the nativity scene/crib in the church at Christmas and keeping it in your purse or wallet, which is believed to bring financial prosperity throughout the year.
An Indian author, Suresh Padmanabhan, in his work, I Love Money, devoted a chapter to ‘Money rituals’ and wrote, “Take a currency note in your hand and wish it ‘Good morning.’ “Express gratitude to your wallet, accounts book, cash box, bank passbook, or any other tools connected directly to money. Smile at yourself in the mirror and pat yourself when you perform a task well.”
Some practitioners in western traditions also perform what they define as money spells/rites, which involve the invocation of spirits and archangels, drawing ritual circles, erecting a temple and an altar, and presenting offerings to ancient deities.
However, these rituals are often believed and practiced by religious groups on the fringes and are based on cultural paradigms that only allow clearly defined routes of financial access through hard work, lucrative business, and clever exploitation of market gaps.
Lamenting the lack of profitable skills available to Nigerian youths, a United Kingdom-based personal development coach, Mr Toyyib Adelodun, highlighted the need for popular magical ideas about money to be refuted.
“Nigerian youths need to understand that money is a unit of account to measure, therefore the more value you produce for the community, the richer you are supposed to be. So, the first thing a young person should seek is education and skills to earn money.
“Money is always circulating in an economy. It is the Central Bank of Nigeria that prints money, it doesn’t come from anywhere else. We saw a practical example of this recently when the CBN embarked on the naira redesign and there wasn’t enough money in circulation. So, there is no magic that is going to bring money from anywhere unless you offer your skills as a person of value.
“I have been to several countries in the world and I can see that money only comes from value creation. Unfortunately, Nigerian youths are not equipped with the relevant skills; we just go to religious houses to pray and sit back at home and don’t market skills or deliver an excellent service in order to generate wealth. We don’t have to resort to crimes,” he said.
Clerics urge re-orientation
A Senior Pastor at Christ Life Church, Ibadan, Prof. Wale Coker, told Saturday PUNCH the youth need a re-orientation that would see them embrace a new value system other than the present mad rush to become wealthy overnight.
“The scriptures state that ‘wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished, but he that gathers by labour shall increase’. Youths should be encouraged to walk in the fear of God which is the beginning of wisdom,” he added.
The National Missioner of the Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Shiekh, Abdur-Rahman Ahmad, stated, “All those who claim to be Muslims and Alfas that are involved in money rituals know within their hearts that they are doing something wrong and deceiving people.
“The reality is that there is no money ritual. It is not only against the letter and spirit of the laws of Islam but also against human conscience. Islam recognises only three sources of legitimate wealth: direct labour or hard work, inheritance, and a legitimate gift and this doesn’t mean a Greek gift or bribe or something induced.”
On her part, a traditionalist, Omitonade Ifawemimo, said, “There is no shortcut in Isese (traditional spirituality). If you don’t work, you won’t be wealthy. Nollywood and the fantasy it creates bears responsibility for the concept of money rituals.
“Human sacrifice for money rituals does not exist in Isese. It is fake, madness, and a scam! It’s tragic that Yoruba movies have messed up people’s thinking into believing all these lies.”
Following the murder of LASU student Favour Daley-Oladele for ritual purposes – a practice often referred to a as ‘money ritual’ in Nigeria – a wave of articles and comments appeared in local and international newspapers and magazines. Much too much to include here – although I find it important to at least mention the publication of a number of these valuable sources of information.
As a reminder: in December 2019, Favour Daley-Oladele, a final year student of Lagos State University (LASU), was murdered and partly cannibalized for a ritualistic motive, a ‘money ritual’, allegedly by her boyfriend Adeeko Owolabi, aided by Segun Philip, a white garment church pastor and his mother, Mrs. Bola Adeeko.
Favour and her parents lived in Mowe, Ogun State, but she was allegedly killed in Osun State. Also see my posts dated January 6, 4, 3, and 2 of the current year.
For practical purposes I present here only the links and thus not the full contents of a number of recent publications on Favour Daley-Oladele’s untimely and gruesome death, thus accepting the risk that within a few months or years some of these publications will have disappeared from the internet. It is important to mention that losing the accessibility of these links constitutes a risk which is the main reasons for choosing for this site the methodology to copy-paste news on ritual murders in African countries – a maybe controversial approach which I though am able and willing to defend, in case needed.
From time to time, as more news emerges, I will update the contents below (webmaster FVDK).
The deceased (above) and the suspects.
Wretched riches Published: January 6, 2020 By: The Sun, Voice of the nation
Segun Philip, a white garment church pastor; Adeeko Owolabi, the boyfriend of slain Lagos State University (LASU) student Miss Favour Daley-Oladele; and his mother, Mrs. Bola Adeeko, will be handed over to the Osun Police Command for prosecution.
Ogun Police Command spokesman Abimbola Oyeyemi disclosed this to The Nation yesterday.
He said although Favour and her parents lived in Mowe, Ogun State, she was allegedly killed in Osun State.
Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said that the detectives handling the case would investigate to find out if the suspects had carried out a similar action in the past.
He said that upon conclusion of the investigations, the command would transfer the suspects to the police in Osun State, who would prosecute them.
Twenty-three-year-old Adeeko Owolabi allegedly lured Miss Favour Daley-Oladele, 22, to a far-away white garment church in Ikoyi-Ile, Osun State, where he allegedly brutally murdered the girl while she was asleep by using a pestle to crush her head. He, thereafter, removed her heart for a ‘get-rich-quick’ money making concoction.
He was allegedly assisted in the act by a self-acclaimed pastor of a white garment church in Ikoyi-Ile, Segun Philip, who slit the girl’s throat, removed her heart, breasts and other organs before feeding Owolabi and his mother with a delicacy prepared with Favour’s vital organs.
The grieving father of the deceased, Mr. Daley-Oladele, said he couldn’t believe that a daughter, who was born into the family after years of delayed birth, would just be brutally killed by someone she knew.
He described his daughter as “the golden girl of the family,” saying losing her a few months to her graduation was emotionally unbearable.
Daley-Oladele said: “It’s quite emotional having raised that girl for that number of years. Favour happened to be a golden girl to the family. We waited for some years before having her.
“And having done that she went to school and when one is envisaging that within the next few years she would be going for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and one starts celebrating that one has a graduate in one’s home, a woman; some people conspired to kill her.
“What she actually told us that day was that she was returning to school to prepare for her final examination. She said she was going to join her group and it was in that process that somebody called her. And she said she would also be going to see a friend. That was all.
“All we want is justice for Favour. It will act as a deterrent to others.”
LASU students have resolved to mobilise to attend the court proceedings on the gruesome murder of their colleague, Favour.
The President of the Students’ Union, Oladele Oluwatayo, who spoke to The Nation on the phone yesterday, said that the decision was arrived at during a short meeting after the candlelight procession on Monday.
He said that was the only way they could identify with Favour, even in death, while also ensuring justice was done.
More details on the murder of LASU final year female student Favour Daley-Oladele who was murdered for a money ritual by her boyfriend. See my January 2 post. Warning: this article includes graphic contents. (webmaster FVDK).
Men of of Nigerian police have exhumed the body of Favour Daley-Oladele
The LASU student was murdered by her boyfriend for ritual purpose
When the remains was exhumed, the head, the two breasts, neck and part of the two legs were no longer there
Osun homicide police detectives have exhumed the body of Favour Daley-Oladele, the murdered final year Sociology student of Lagos State University (LASU) who was gruesomely murdered for money rituals at Ikoyi-Ile in Osun. The victim’s dismembered body was was exhumed from a dry shallow well at Ikoyi-Ile. NAN reports that Babatunde Kokumo, Osun commissioner of police, led detectives from the Homicide Section of the command during the exhumation operation.
When the remains was exhumed, the head, the two breasts, neck and part of the two legs were no longer there. NAN recalls that the deceased was allegedly killed by a prophet, Segun Philip, 42, and her boyfriend, Adeeko Owolabi, 22, in Ikoyi-Ile, Osun, on Dec. 8, for money rituals. Owolabi’s mother, Ruth was also said to have played a role in the dastardly act.
Owolabi, also a graduate of LASU, told newsmen during operation that he conspired with the prophet to murder her girlfriend for money rituals. According to him, he lured the deceased to Ikoyi-Ile and lodged her in an hotel before killing her. “After I lodged her in a guest house, I took her to a house which I claimed to be my uncle’s house, knowing fully well that the place was a ritualists den. ” I smashed a pestle on her head and she collapsed. “The prophet thereafter used a knife and cutlass to dismember her body which was divided into three parts breasts, head and legs with other vital parts. “We buried the remaining part of her body beside Prophet Philip’s Church called ‘Solution Salvation Chapel’, while some vital parts was given to my mother to eat for spiritual cleansing,” he said.
Also speaking with newsmen, Segun Philip, who claimed to be a prophet in Solution Salvation Chapel, said the deceased was murdered to make money rituals for Owolabi.
“I am not a prophet but a herbalist who engages in spiritual cleansing for whosoever come to my place. “I used the Solution Salvation Chapel as a cover up not to allow people know the true picture of who I am and what I do. “Owolabi came to my place for money rituals and I told him that we need a complete human being for the rituals. “And on December 8, he brought his girlfriend to my church and we killed her and as well dismembered her body part for money rituals.”
Owolabi’s mother, Ruth, who also spoke with newsmen said she was not aware that the concoction given to her to eat and the cream was made of human part. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that students of LASU held candlelight procession on Monday, December 29, in honour of their colleague, Favour Sewanu Daley-Oladele.
Police Exhume Corpse Of Female LASU Student Allegedly Killed For Money Ritual By Boyfriend
From left: Police forensic experts, Pastor Segun Phillip of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Solution Chapel, Ikoyi-Ile pointing at the spot where Favour Daley-Oladele was buried while Owolabi Adeeko and her mother looks on
It was a gory scene on Saturday in Ikoyi-Ile community of Isokan Local Government Area of Osun State, when policemen exhumed the decomposing corpse of a female Lagos State University student, Favour Daley-Oladele, allegedly killed by her boyfriend, Owolabi Adeeko, for money ritual.
The Police team that went to the church where the lady was buried in a shallow grave was led by the Commissioner of Police in Osun State, Babatunde Kokumo, who explained that the exhumation of the remains of the 23-year-old student would enhance the completion of investigation started by the Ogun State Police command.
He, however, assured the people that the Police would look into the fear raised over the number of churches in Ikoyi-Ile, just as he tasked parents to strike a balance between moral upbringing and the academic programme of their children.
The Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Solution Chapel Ikoyi-Ile, Osun State
Kokumo said, “we are all aware of the gruesome killing of a student of LASU. The killing has been traced to Ikoyi -Ile. In furtherance of the investigation started by the Ogun State command. We have brought our homicide experts to exhume and help in the furtherance of the investigations started by the Ogun State police command with a view to prosecuting the suspects.
“It is a gruesome murder and the whole thing is quite horrible. We will not fold our arms and watch lawless citizens take laws into their hands, destroying peoples lives.
“We have been informed that we have a number of churches in this community. It is our responsibility to conduct our investigation. What we are doing is intelligence policing driven by the people’s need. If the community are making us know that they are no longer comfortable with the number of churches in the community or the calibre of such people running the churches then it becomes our responsibility to conduct an investigation on their activities and check them.
“My advice is that parents have a lot of roles to play. We have a lot of children in schools, the parents owe them the responsibility to let them know that apart from their academic pursuit they must see to their moral training. It is only when the two are well combined that you can have a complete human being. They should see to the peer group they belong,” Kokumo remarked.
It is recalled that Owolabi Adeeko had in December 2019 lured Favour Daley-Oladele to a church in Ikoyi-Ile, where she was brutally murdered. Her heart, breast and other vital organs were removed to prepare a concoction by Pastor Segun Phillip of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Solution Chapel. The concoction was reportedly eaten by Adeeko and his mother. The trio has since been arrested by policemen.
“We have been informed that we have a number of churches in this community. It is our responsibility to conduct our investigation. What we are doing is intelligence policing driven by the people’s need. If the community are making us know that they are no longer comfortable with the number of churches in the community or the calibre of such people running the churches then it becomes our responsibility to conduct an investigation on their activities and check them.
“My advice is that parents have a lot of roles to play. We have a lot of children in schools, the parents owe them the responsibility to let them know that apart from their academic pursuit they must see to their moral training. It is only when the two are well combined that you can have a complete human being. They should see to the peer group they belong,” Kokumo remarked.
It is recalled that Owolabi Adeeko had in December 2019 lured Favour Daley-Oladele to a church in Ikoyi-Ile, where she was brutally murdered. Her heart, breast and other vital organs were removed to prepare a concoction by Pastor Segun Phillip of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Solution Chapel. The concoction was reportedly eaten by Adeeko and his mother. The trio has since been arrested by policemen.
The December 2019 murder of Favour Seun Daley-Oladele, a LASU State University student (see my previous posts) has led to many comments and condemnations. One comment that went deeper than the majority of the reactions was from Olusegun Adeniyi (email: Olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com) tapping on an academic paper of Dr Adagbada Olufadekemi, a lecturer at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, entitled “Sociological analysis of money rituals as a recurrent theme in Yoruba films” and commenting on it. He also refers to a lecture given at the 2019 convocation of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) last August by Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Godwin Sogolo, who dwelled on the factors that render a social system dysfunctional, using Nigeria as an illustration. See below.
Superstition is widespread in many African countries, notably in Nigeria, but not only in this West African country. Only a few years ago, in 2017, bald men in Mozambique were warned by the police that they could be targets of ritual attacks, after five men had been murdered within a week. “The belief is that the head of a bald man contains gold,” Afonso Dias, a police commander in Mozambique’s central Zambezia province, then explained.
The second part of Adeniyi’s essay is less relevant to our topic, which focuses on superstition, money-making rituals in Nigeria en ritual killings in general, but I nevertheless reproduce it here, for completeness sake (webmaster FVDK).
The late Favour Seun Daley-Oladele, victim of a money-making ritual, Lagos State, Nigeria
Money Rituals and the Head Hunters
Published: January 2, 2020 By: Olusegun Adeniyi – This day, Nigeria
It is painful enough that the parents of Favour Seun Daley-Oladele lost their 22-year old daughter, a 400 level theatre art student, in tragic circumstances. But the gory details of how she was dismembered with her organs cooked and eaten by a wealth-seeking mother and son is heartrending. The disgusting belief that money can grow from the sacrifice of human beings has sent too many innocent people to their untimely death, especially in the southern part of the country. So how desperate or gullible must someone be not to see that if herbalists could create money by performing rituals, they themselves would not be so poor?
In his paper, “Sociological analysis of money rituals as a recurrent theme in Yoruba films”, Dr Adagbada Olufadekemi, a lecturer at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, argued that instant riches through money rituals that is often projected in Nollywood movies is a reflection of our reality in which “esoteric forces tapped from nature are used by the initiate to send the soul of the sacrificial victim to a supra-physical realm, wherein it labour to bring wealth to the ritualist.” Olufadekemi locates the challenge in “the apparent downward trend in the socio-economic conditions of the average Nigerian” which has led to “increase in the number of people using occult practices to come to terms with contemporary socio-economic demands.”
What the paper ignores is the factor of greed and the growing penchant by many of our young people for one of the ‘Seven Social Sins’ identified by Mohandas Gandhi as ‘Wealth without work’. The young man who killed the Lagos State University (LASU) undergraduate to make money reportedly dropped out of the same university. So, having failed in his academics, he was looking for a short cut to success; he wants to ‘hammer’ through diabolical means, without having to work. It is a growing sociological problem in Nigeria that we need to address.
While dark powers exist, the notion that anybody can conjure money after killing and harvesting the head or internal organs of another human being is ludicrous. This belief is prevalent not only in Nigeria but across the African continent. It is for this reason that albino and people suffering with a hunched back are perpetually endangered. In 2017, bald men in Mozambique were warned by the police that they could be targets of ritual attacks, after five men were murdered within a week. “The belief is that the head of a bald man contains gold,” Afonso Dias, a police commander in Mozambique’s central Zambezia province, explained.
In his lecture at the 2019 convocation of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) last August, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Godwin Sogolo, FNAL, spoke to the factors that render a social system dysfunctional, using Nigeria as an illustration. While moral disruptions due to ineffective education or damage caused by failure in governance tend to be more gradual and less perceptible, according to Sogolo, “the effects of disruptions caused by severe material needs and cultural invasions are more dramatic and impactful on human character” because such “derails the mind of the individual and causes havoc to the collective psyche. The result, in most cases, is the failure to comprehend the purpose of life, leading to moral apathy and unwholesome acts of violence, aggression and criminality, especially among the youths.”
Although money rituals have been with us for a long time, the current prevalence can be situated within the context of Sogolo’s thesis. If you listen to the lyrics of most of the artistes who now rule the airwaves and are idolized in the social media, dishonest living to make money is all they glorify; in addition to peddling obscenities. And many of their followers are being conditioned to believe that in life, only the end justifies the means. That is why some young men would engage in daylight bank robbery in Abuja!
In my 1st May 2015 Platform Abuja lecture, I recounted an October 2012 experience when I visited Ekiti State during the first tenure of Dr Kayode Fayemi. He was on a working visit to the Ikogosi Spring then under reconstruction and I escorted him. In the course of inspecting the project, Fayemi noticed he couldn’t comprehend the language being spoken by the artisans. He asked where they came from and they said Cotonou, Republic of Benin. Turning to the contractor, Fayemi asked why he would deny local people jobs from which they could earn income. The contractor said the job required some special skills that were not readily available in the country. “Then teach our people”, Fayemi dictated. The contractors replied that the local boys were not willing to learn because they don’t want to work. When Fayemi called the boys, they were more interested in him ‘dropping something’. Those are the kind of people who engage in money rituals and their population is growing across the country.
While I commiserate with the Daley-Oladele family for the gruesome murder of their daughter, I hope the police will speed up their investigation and charge the culprits to court. But as a society, we must deal with this moral decay in which young men believe that the way to ‘make it’ in life is not by work but rather by killing fellow human beings and removing their body parts for money rituals.
The Point Adenuga Has proved
During the Christmas holiday, I spent a considerable amount of time watching television. In the process I saw numerous Globalcom commercials promoting our rich culture and the nation’s entertainment industry. By using local musicians, actors, actresses as well as global stars with Nigerian ancestry for endorsement, Globacom has helped to empower many of our people at home and in the diaspora. But it is in the content of these promotions that Globacom has deployed its network to project Nigeria’s image beyond the call of business. It is a patriotic duty for which its chairman, Dr Mike Adenuga Jnr must be commended.
For instance, if there is anything the commercial by the British World Heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua, demonstrates, it is the Nigerian spirit of resilience in the face of adversity. We see that all the time in the manner we laugh at our problems and survive against odds. But Anthony Joshua puts it in a way that resonates. “There has always been a big piece of my heart as a Nigerian and I do believe that it is that piece that sets me apart. It always says to me, ‘never give up, dream big’! We come from a nation of warriors and that is why I believe in Glo. We have that same tenacity, that Nigerian fighting spirit that makes us game changers! We are relentless. We don’t just face our challenges, we step into the ring to win again and again and again. If you believe in yourself, there is no limit to what you can achieve. Yeah, I used to be a bricklayer in England but now I am heavyweight champion of the world!” he declared. And then this: “You need strength? Yeah, that comes from the hard knocks that life throws at us. And we are Nigerians, we know all about that”. He then added: “It’s like when we are up against the rope. You don’t stay down; you’ve got to fight. You have to dig deep to be a world champion”.
Profound!
Meanwhile, the contribution of Globacom to the entertainment industry goes beyond sponsorships and endorsements to Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives that have helped to resurrect and nurture the career of many veteran artistes who may have ended up in penury in a society that places little premiums on art. Given the array of stars they promote, Globacom must be investing billions of Naira annually on these artistes and their crafts. And the multiplier effects on the economy must be enormous.
On a personal note, I derive joy from the fact that Adenuga has validated my position. During the licensing bidding round which earned Nigeria global applause because of the transparent manner Dr Ernest Ndukwe handled the entire process, there were people who dismissed the argument some of us were making (that we also needed a Nigerian business man on the telecoms table) as mere sentiment. But we have been vindicated by Globacom. Despite being launched more than two years after two foreign operators (MTN and Econet) had been firmly entrenched in the market, Adenuga has succeeded where others before and after him have failed. But more commendable is the disruptive role Globacom has played in the industry: From putting a lie to the claim that per second billing was impossible in Nigeria to crashing the prohibitive cost of acquiring a GSM line to bringing down the cost of airtime etc.
In my column on this page on 31st October 2002 (more than 17 years ago now!) titled “Unto Whom Much is Given…”, I reminded Adenuga that while he may have won the battle for a licence, he had to prove to Nigerians and the world that he could run an efficient telecoms system. I also argued that it made no sense to exclude our people from such an important sector. “For us to grow as a nation, we surely need daring people who are ready to invest their money…men who are prepared to dream big, take the biggest gamble, men who will never accept No for an answer regardless of how hopeless the situation may seem,” I concluded.
While Globacom has made considerable investment in the development of sports in Nigeria, what is not known to the public is the role Adenuga played in the qualification of Nigeria for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. When the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua decided to intervene at a time it was looking like Nigeria might not qualify for a tournament holding for the first time on African soil, he turned to Adenuga. But at his meeting with Yar’Adua, Adenuga said he would prefer to operate from the background with financial support and both settled for the then Rivers State Governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi to chair the presidential committee of which I was a member. True to his word, he was the single largest donor to our assignment. Incidentally, the last time I had any contact with Adenuga was on 17th June 2010 at the stadium in Bloemfontein where Nigeria played Greece during the tournament.
The critical challenge of our country, as I have argued on several occasions, is that we have too many idle billionaires with neither credible sources of livelihood nor feasible investments who can help put our people to work. Many of them stash their money abroad, buying Yacth and ferrying around Supermodels while employing only domestic staff who minister to their vanities without adding any value to our society. To confront our economic challenges in this new year and decade, we need the patriotic zeal and courage of men like Adenuga who will not only invest their money but also empower our people.
On Christmas
Since ‘Oversabi’ or ITK (I too know) is a national ideology in our country, it is no surprise that some Nigerians believe they are wiser than billions of people all over the world who celebrate Christmas. While they are entitled to their opinion, I found a piece on WhatsApp that I have edited and adapted to a simple message: You never argue on any of the Days declared by the United Nations to celebrate diseases and infirmities: World Cancer Day, World Aids Day, World Diabetes Day etc. It is therefore sheer ignorance to argue that dedicating ONLY ONE DAY to celebrate the King of kings and the Lord of lords is wrong. I don’t care on what day of the calendar Jesus Christ was born. But while you are free to choose your own date, I look forward to joining the rest of the world on 25th December every year to celebrate Christmas!
Fortunately, there are Nigerians who speak out against this ugly practice of money-making rituals, which caused the death of a student of the Lagos State University, Favour Daley-Oladele. Read the statement made by the Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Segun Runsewe. (webmaster FVDK).
Segun Runsewe
Published: December 31, 2019 By: Sahara Reporters
Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Segun Runsewe, has said that every Nigerian must collaborate to end ritual killings in the country.
Runsewe, who was reacting to the gruesome killing of a final year student of the Lagos State University, Favour Daley-Oladele, by her boyfriend in connivance of his mother and pastor a few days back, said that it was important for the mentality of young people to be changed so that the love of money can be abandoned for rational reasoning.
The NCAC boss stated that the silence of women groups over the incident was quite disturbing, adding that as mothers they must rise up to combat the scourge of ritual killings.
He said, “The spirit of extreme love for money at all costs and by all means among Nigerian young persons must be tamed to avoid total collapse of the Nigeria family system.
“The killing of Miss Favour Daley-Oladele, a final year Sociology student of Lagos State University by her friend and his mother for money ritual is unacceptable and has nothing to do with the rudiments and culturally accepted means of survival and of money making.
“Killing somebody for money ritual is never a business neither does it have anything to do with being poor or lacking anything good in life but of a spirit not associated with our people and our way of life.
“NCAC under my watch from 2020 will embark on nationwide cultural advocacy to help call attention and re-educate Nigerians to stop the quest to become rich or make money by all means which if unchecked will destroy the entire fabric of the family system and the Nigerian culture of love for one another.
“We are not going to allow this to continue and we shall take the battle to various communities, institutions and leaders at all levels both religious so that we can bring Nigeria back to what it used to be culturally.
“Our women and mothers can do it and I want them to fight it right from the homes.
“If our mothers says no to this type of unacceptable attitude from our children, then we can go to sleep.
“We shall engage our women and they will take the matter and solve it.”
The Cherubim and Seraphim Unification Church of Nigeria, the umbrella body of C and S churches worldwide has denied media reports that one “Prophet” Segun Philips who was accused of killing one Miss Favour Daley for ritual purposes is a member of the church.
DAILY POST had reported that the Ogun State Police Command arrested a 23-year-old man, Adeeko Owolabi, for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Favour Daley-Oladele – a final-year Sociology student of Lagos State University, LASU.
But, the Church in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Apostle M. O. Adeyemi said there is no record where Segun Philips is associated with the C & S and officers of the church in Irewole/Isokan Local Government Area of Osun State where he committed the heinous crime.
The church denied knowledge of Segun Philips as a member of the Holy Order.
Adeyemi in a statement made available to DAILY POST on Tuesday said, “We have contacted all our officers in the Zone and they said they did not know him or his church. Besides, our Youth Fellowship went as far as locating his church and came with the reports (including photographs) of not seeing any signpost or imprint of C & S in his place of worship.
“We wonder why the Press hurriedly tagged him a “C & S Prophet”. We are not unmindful of the fact that many charlatans hide under the Freedom of Association as guaranteed by the Nigerian constitution to set up places of worship for different purposes. Some of them adopt white garments and mimick our mode of worship even when they are not registered or under the episcopal authourity of the leadership of the C & S.
“We appeal to the members of the Press to always ascertain the true identity of some fake Pastors and Prophets wearing white garments to deceive unsuspecting members of the public for pecuniary gains.
“It is rather unfortunate that anybody calling himself a Christian could be that devilish and kill a fellow human being for money-making ritual. The C & S Church is a Bible-believing Church that strongly believes in the sacredness of the blood of Jesus and frowns at any blood-letting rituals. ”
“The C & S Unification Church of Nigeria strongly condemns the act and urged the law enforcement officers to fish out the ilks of Philips before killing more unsuspecting Nigerians.
“The Church also commiserate with the family of the young undergraduate and the entire Lagos State University (LASU) community”.
Man in police net for killing girlfriend for rituals Published: December 29, 2019 By: Ishola Oludare
The police in Ogun State have arrested a 23-year-old man, Adeeko Owolabi, for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Favour Daley-Oladele – a final-year Sociology student of Lagos State University, LASU.
The suspect, police said, was arrested together with a 42-year-old self acclaimed Pastor of a white garment church, Segun Philip, who, it was learnt, requested for the deceased’s heart.
The deceased was reported to have left home to an unknown destination since December 8, 2019 and has not been seen since then, hence, she was reported missing by her parents at Mowe Police Station.
In a statement on Sunday, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, explained that, upon the report, the DPO Mowe division, SP Marvis Jayeola detailed his crack detectives to unravel the mystery behind the sudden disappearance of the 22 year old girl.
Oyeyemi disclosed that, “the detectives went into full scale technical and forensic investigation of the case and their efforts paid off, when the movement of the deceased was traced to a white garment church in far away Ikoyi-Ile in Osun State, being pastored by one Segun Philip.”
The PPRO explained that, “on getting to the church, the self-acclaimed pastor was promptly arrested, but he was quick to inform the detectives that the girl was brought to him by her boyfriend, Adeeko Owolabi, who was still within the vicinity of the church.
“The said boyfriend was traced and apprehended immediately.
“On interrogation, Adeeko Owolabi confessed to the police that the deceased was his girlfriend and that he lured her to Ikoyi-Ile where he had perfected plans with the so-called pastor Segun Philip to use her for money making ritual.
“He stated further that while the girl was sleeping, the pastor gave him a pestle with which he used to smash the head of the girl and the pastor quickly used a knife to cut off her neck, ripped-opened her chest and removed her heart, which he used in preparing a concoction for him and his mother to eat.
“When asked what pushed him to such devilish act, Owolabi explained that he decided to go into money ritual because things are not going well with his parents economically most especially his mother who used to be the breadwinner of the family.
“He added that when he sought for assistance from the pastor, he was asked to bring a human being for that purpose and the available person at that time was his girlfriend.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Kenneth Ebrimson, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to the Homicide Section of the State criminal investigation and intelligence department for proper investigation.
The CP, who described the gruesome murder of the deceased as superlative degree of wickedness, vowed to ensure that all the suspects faced the full wrath of the law.
A large number of students of the Lagos State University (LASU) came out on Monday for the candlelight in honour of their slain colleague, Favour Sewanu Daley-Oladele.
A large number of students of the Lagos State University (LASU) came out on Monday for the candlelight in honour of their slain colleague, Favour Sewanu Daley-Oladele.
The 22-year-old final year student was lured by his 23-year-old boyfriend, Adeeko Owolabi to a Cherubim & Seraphim Church at Ikoyi-Ile in Osun State where she was murdered and part of her organs were removed for a ‘get-rich-quick’ money-making concoction.
A LASU student, Dele Alli had earlier urged fellow students via his twitter handle to turn out for the candlelight.
Also, a hashtag, #justiceForFavour has been created to seek justice for the slain thespian.
The mourning students, decked in black attires, converged on the Department of Theatre Arts and Music to honour their departed colleague.
From there, they moved round the campus, singing in a dirge.
Some of them were in tears.
They called on LASU authorities and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as well as Inspector-General of Police to ensure speedy trial of the perpetrators.
While that was ongoing, other students and social media users took to Twitter to condemn the act.
They warned the government not to sweep the matter under the carpet.
Ponle Olafimihan said: “Now the perpetrators are boasting that they’ll soon be released by the police. These cannibals shouldn’t go unpunished.”
OMO BABA said a case like this should be dealt with seriously.
“How can you murder a human being like you in cold blood,” he wondered.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Southwest (Zone D) promised to follow the matter to a logical conclusion and “update the general public on our actions and findings in due time.”
A tweet by its Coordinator, Comrade Kappo Samuel Olawale said an injury to one is an injury to all!
“We will not keep quiet in this case of pure cruelty. The culprits must be brought to book and made to face the wrath of the law. We will stand till the very end to ensure justice is gotten for Favour,” Olawale said.
Ganiu Oloruntade said the gruesome murder of this young lady must not be swept under the carpet.
Modupe Ademola pleaded with you all LASU management and Governor Sanwo-Olu to ensure justice for Favour takes place.
A group, LASU PRs & Influencers said: “The federation who understands the importance of life and justice should use their position to demand justice for Favour. Favour was said to be pregnant at the time of this incident. Please Let’s fight for #JusticeForFavour and spread the news.”
Gracie’s Goddess said she and the late Miss Daley-Oladele wrote senior West African Examination Council (WAEC) in the same school.
“Favour when I saw it, I didn’t believe it was you till I saw your name we wrote senior WAEC in the same secondary school. I just pray those individuals involved get punished,” she wrote on Twitter.
A social media influencer @RUCCIFIED wrote: “This life is already sad and hard; why then make it sadder and harder for another family at this time?
“How much fearless could one be that gives you gut to behead a fellow human, disembark the body parts, beat to a mortal and then feed on it?
“We truly hope that the @LASUOfficial together with the @lagosstategov and other states and federal law agencies against brutality and evil practices as such above would lend a voice and take action to ensure that the culprits are brought to book.”
Map of Lagos State showing the 20 Local Government Areas
