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‘The children are not safe here’: the Nigerian couple fighting infanticide

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When I first read the article presented below and published by the Guardian, entitled ‘The children are not safe here’, about a Nigerian couple – Olusola and Chinwe Stevens – fighting infanticide in their own home country, I remembered an earlier article describing this courageous couple and their admirable work. In 2018, to be precise on May 9, 2018, I published a post entitled ‘Nigerian couple working to eliminate infanticide in Nigeria‘, on two Christian missionaries, Steven Olusola Ajayi and his wife Chinwe who in 2004 had opened a shelter for so-called ‘evil children’, the Vine Heritage Home.

Without any doubt, this is the same couple and the same home presented in the 2026 Guardian article below. The 2018 article on the missionary couple was originally published on a website called ‘This Is Africa’. It was an opinion-article. Unfortunately, the exact title is missing. lIn 2018 I had juist started the present site on ritual killings, superstition, witchcraft, infanticide and human rights, and – with hindsight – at that time there was still lack of a systematic presentation.

Unfortunately, the original 2018 article no longer exists on he internet. This is precisely the reason why I have opted for the actual approach to copy-paste articles selected for my postings (together with my comments), as I had this experience before. See the section Why publish this site?

Infanticide is a crime, caused by ignorance and superstition. Nigeria is certainly not the only African country where systematic infanticide exists, i.e. the systematic killing of small children, babies. I regularly read about infanticide in other countries where sometimes desperate mothers kill their newborns. But the shelter created by Olusola and Chinwe Stevens, VIne Heritage, is for other babies whose life is threatened: new born babies who are considered ‘evil’ children, who are believed to be bad omens. Babies with disabilities, albino babies, twins, are suspected to bring curses and bad luck. Hence… they are killed, buried alive, or ‘simply’ disappear.

I express my deep respect to the Stevens couple and am convinced that their work is not in vain and that it will ultimately contribute to the eradication of a terrible crime that has existed for too long.
(webmaster FVDK).

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‘The children are not safe here’: the Nigerian couple fighting infanticide

Triplets Paul, Pauline and Paulina at the Vine Heritage Home Foundation, Gwagwalada, aged six months in July 2025. Photograph: Adesegun Adeokun/The Guardian

Published: February 5, 2026
By: Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani – The Guardian

In a few isolated communities in central Nigeria, some babies are believed to be bad omens. Olusola and Chinwe Stevens run a thriving home for babies at risk. But what happens when the families want them back?

Esther Stevens’ life nearly ended as soon as it began. She was born in 2007, in a village on the outskirts of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city. Her mother died giving birth to her, and in the eyes of some villagers, that meant the baby was cursed. According to tradition, there was only one way to deal with such a child. The villagers tied the newborn to her mother’s lifeless body and prepared to bury them together.

When word reached a Nigerian missionary living in the community, she rushed to the burial site and pleaded for the baby’s life. After the villagers and relatives refused, she appealed to the traditional priest who had been called on to perform the rite. “Finally, the priest agreed and said, let them give her the evil child and see what the child will become,” Esther said. “The child, that’s me.”

The missionary took Esther to a children’s home in Abuja run by a Christian couple, Olusola and Chinwe Stevens, who brought her up as their own. Today, Esther is 18, tall, with a broad smile. She laughs easily and has a quick sense of humour.

In Nigeria, children are widely regarded as gifts from God or the spirit world, but according to some traditional belief systems, certain children were once thought to bring misfortune. Children born with albinism, visible deformities or disabilities were said to bring curses, or to be omens sent from ancestors or deities. In parts of southern Nigeria, particularly among the Igbo, twins and triplets were feared. Although these beliefs have largely faded, in isolated pockets of the country, they persist. In some of these communities, says the human rights activist Leo Igwe, the death of the mother in childbirth is believed to be the fault of the child.

The couple who run the children’s home where Esther grew up have been confronting these practices since 1996. Sent by the Christian Missionary Foundation to Abuja, the Stevenses discovered that some children were still being killed: poisoned, abandoned to starve or buried alive. In 2004, they created the Vine Heritage Home Foundation, a refuge for vulnerable children. Twenty years later, they provide a home for more than 200 children.

When Nigeria moved its capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1976, the new site was presented by the government as a neutral location, symbolically distant from centres of ethnic and regional tensions. But less than 40 miles away from this gleaming modern capital, with its wide boulevards and high-rise buildings, are communities that become nearly impassable in the rainy season. Many of these communities depend largely on subsistence farming, and the few healthcare facilities are poorly equipped and understaffed. According to Olusola, 75% of the children living in Vine Heritage are there because their mothers died in childbirth. (Nigeria is “the most dangerous country in the world to give birth”, according to UN data from 2023, which shows that one in every 100 women dies during childbirth or shortly after, many from postpartum haemorrhage.)

After their shocking discovery, the Stevenses began going around the communities, begging the families to hand over to them any of the “cursed” children rather than kill them. Then they began to speak with other local missionaries, asking them to spread the word that they were willing to take in any child deemed evil.

One of their contacts, missionary Andrew Tonak, told me that Chinwe is one of the most open-hearted people he has met, a mother and leader whose counsel, generosity and instinct to give have touched countless lives. Tonak is 61, and has lived in Kaida village, about 40 miles west of Abuja, since 2000. He recalled visiting women who had just given birth to twins. On his next visit, he would often be told, “The children are no more. They died.” Over the years, he says he has rescued 20 children from the village and neighbouring communities.

By the time some of the children now at Vine Heritage were rescued, they were already weakened by poisoning or severe malnutrition. Most required urgent medical attention. But increasingly, communities are becoming aware of the Stevenses’ work and now bring newborns to them directly, before harm can come to them.

Olusola said: “On their own, they come asking, ‘Please, where is that house where they keep the children?’ And then they bring them.”

Today, Vine Heritage is home to more than 200 children, from newborn to young adults. The oldest, Godiya, is 21 and has been at Vine Heritage since she was a baby. The newest arrival before my visit, a baby born on 27 May 2025, has been fighting for her life in a hospital crib since the day she was brought to the home.

About four years ago, Vine Heritage moved from a cramped facility that was originally designed to accommodate 55 children, to a much larger compound in Gwagwalada, built with funding from the EU in partnership with global charity ActionAid. The home has 18 dedicated staff working in shifts to provide round-the-clock care for the babies and toddlers. In a spacious hall, everyone gathers for morning prayers, group meetings and TV time. (Like any home full of children, there’s a constant battle for control of the remote.)

As I followed Olusola on a tour of the neatly laid-out grounds, he moved in a sprightly fashion, his greying beard framing a warm smile. At the youngest children’s dormitory, a chorus rang out: “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” They are not allowed out unaccompanied, and their small faces were pressed against the windows.

Esther Stevens, 18, who has been living at the home since birth. Photograph: Adesegun Adeokun/The Guardian

The multiple-birth siblings all have names that sound alike: Victor and Victoria, Mabel and Bethel, Zion and Zipporah. Among the youngest residents are triplets named Paul, Pauline and Paulina. Their parents arrived at the home one morning about six months ago, cradling the newborns in their arms. “I asked, ‘Why did you bring them?’ They said, ‘We don’t want them to die,’” Olusola recalled. The parents have visited once since then. They love their children, but fear that if the babies remained in their village, they would be killed.

Esther is clearly a favourite among the younger children. They love to follow her around and clamber on to her back, and as she and I chatted, they hovered close by. Esther knew nothing of her true origins or how she had come to live in the house until she was 14. She had been among the first children to arrive, joining the household in 2007 when there were only nine or 10 others. Olusola and Chinwe have one biological child, Praise, now 24 and studying at university. In those early years, Esther assumed she was also their biological daughter. As more children joined over time, she believed she was simply growing up in an orphanage run by her own parents. All the children bear the surname Stevens. “I knew it was an orphanage home, but I thought I was their real child. I look like mummy,” she said, and she does share some resemblance to Chinwe, with the same complexion.

Esther’s illusion was shattered when members of her biological family unexpectedly arrived at the home. At the time, the missionary who had rescued her as a newborn was preparing to leave the community. Before departing, she contacted Esther’s biological family to ask if they wanted to see where she had taken their child, knowing that once she left, they might never have the chance. “My grandmother came from the village and said she wanted to see me,” Esther recalled. “She wanted to see if I was still alive. When she told my father I was alive, he came to see with his own eyes.”

To prepare her for the meeting, Olusola sat her down and told her the truth about her past. “I was more than shocked,” she said quietly. “I felt sad. I felt bad.” Wanting to know more, Esther asked for her file. She read it cover to cover. What hurt most was discovering that her family had never come for her in all the 14 years she had been there. “Finding out about my parents’ true identity … It was just … I shed tears because they didn’t even care.”

Kaida, a village in Gwagwalada, is the closest community to Abuja’s city centre where there is evidence that infanticide may still sometimes take place. There are no tarred roads to the village, and the route is rough and bumpy, but it is better connected than most. There is a patchy phone signal here.

In Kaida, I met Abubakar Auta, a father of 13 and a husband to two wives. His twins Eric and Erica were sent to Vine Heritage about seven years ago. Like almost every adult in Kaida, Abubakar and his wife, Amina, farm for a living. To supplement their income, Amina digs sand from the river to sell to builders. She arrived to meet me straight from her work, dripping wet, sand clinging to her bare feet. Of her husband’s 13 children, seven are hers. Abubakar said he sent the twins away to “save their mother from suffering”. He believed they would not be safe in Kaida. Speaking to me in Hausa through a interpreter, he explained, “If I had left my children here, people would keep their eyes on them, and that would make them a target.” (Eric later died at the children’s home after falling ill.)

Kaida village has solar power, which provides a few hours of electricity each day for its two clinics: one government-run, the other operated by missionaries trained in community health. The government facility stands silent and empty. Locals say its staff are rarely present. The missionary clinic, by contrast, is alive with activity.

While I was there, a community health worker tended to a woman whose young grandson had a toe injury, the wound still raw and red. The woman had told me earlier on, in her home, that she had previously given birth to three sets of twins. All of them died within months. “They just fell sick,” she said. “In a short time, they were dead.”

Olusola Stevens with some of the children at Vine Heritage Home in Gwagwalada, July 2025.Photograph: Adesegun Adeokun/The Guardian

Her eldest child in his early 20s, sitting nearby, looked up and interrupted. “It was an evil hand that killed them,” he said, his tone defiant. At his words, his mother fell silent and turned her face aside, making it clear she wanted no part in that line of conversation.

The village head described the killing of children as belonging to “a time when people did not know these children were human beings”. He repeatedly used the phrase “in those days” to explain that their “eyes are now open” and such killings no longer happen. (He confirmed that the practice continued until at least a little more than 10 years ago, and that his “those days” referred to the years before then. Lakai has served as village head for the past 26 years.)

Community members are reluctant to speak openly, whether out of fear of stigma, distrust of outsiders, or the sensitivity of exposing cultural taboos. What I was able to piece together from these guarded, euphemistic conversations suggests that decisions involved a mix of family elders and traditional religious leaders. Leo Igwe, the human rights activist, acknowledged the role of patriarchy in situations where women surrender their babies to die. In 2019, ActionAid ran a survey in 57 villages around Abuja in which 16% of male respondents openly expressed support for the practice.

The shroud of secrecy has made it hard to tackle these beliefs. When I contacted various government officials, each one said they had never heard of such practices. Infanticide is against the law, but enforcement is hampered by secrecy and denial. Arinze Orakwue worked for nearly 20 years for the state body responsible for rescuing vulnerable children. From the early 2000s, he visited many communities where infanticide is practised, meeting with traditional chiefs and local leaders in an effort to change entrenched beliefs. “Many of them are living in denial. They tell you that it used to happen in their community a long time ago but it doesn’t happen any more.”

As more children were brought to their home, the Stevenses realised the scale of the problem. In 2013, when they decided to speak publicly about infanticide, the Federal Capital Territory government summoned them, accusing them of spreading falsehoods and damaging Nigeria’s image, just to attract attention and donations. Yet this scepticism faded after officials were shown clear evidence. The government eventually commissioned the couple to run awareness campaigns in the affected communities. They have built new partnerships, most notably with ActionAid. “The greatest problem is denial,” said Andrew Mamedu, ActionAid’s Nigeria head. “The community will insist, ‘Oh, there’s nothing like that.’ But when you go there, you see the evidence. You see the altars to the dead twins. Sometimes, the parents can’t account for their children. They are pregnant and before you know it, they’ve given birth and the baby is gone.”

ActionAid’s approach to the problem was patient, practical and deliberately indirect. Staff set up committees in each community – made up of men and women, young people, traditional rulers and religious leaders – and framed their aim as community development. “We don’t start with infanticide because they would just drive us away,” Mamedu said. The teams began by focusing on livelihoods, education, hygiene and access to healthcare, and only then moved on to tackling infanticide, under the broader banner of maternal and child health. Committee members acted as local advocates. One of their most effective tools was radio, still the most widespread and trusted source of news in northern Nigeria.

Chinwe Stevens at home.Photograph: Adesegun Adeokun/The Guardian

The strategy produced some measurable gains. In two communities ActionAid’s advocacy helped secure government investment in health centres. In four communities, the killings gradually stopped. Parents who had handed over children returned to the home to ask for them back. New local “champions” began to emerge, ordinary people willing to speak up. Still, the effort had its limits. Resistance from influential elders persisted, and when funds ran short in 2022, much of the work was left unfinished.

The Stevenses continue to work closely with missionaries stationed across the area. But not all rescues come through Christian networks. In Godiya’s case, it was a Muslim cleric who stepped in. “The Islamic preacher went to the community to preach and make converts, just like I do,” Olusola recalled. “He saw a child strapped to the dead body of her mother. They were preparing the grave. He asked, ‘Please, this child, what happened?’ They told him she was an evil child, and that their culture was to bury such children with their mothers. He said, ‘Can you permit me? Let me call my pastor friend so he can come and pick up the child.’ So he called me, and we went to the community and took her.”

When the Stevenses first established the Vine Heritage Home, their vision was simple: to raise the rescued children as their own and, once they were older, return them to their communities so they could become agents of change in the very places that had once rejected them. In recent years, 36 children have been returned to their families. In each case, the families themselves came asking for the children. But reintegration is rarely smooth. For one thing, many of these rural communities speak local languages understood by few outsiders.

When Esther visited her family in Dako village for the first time in December 2021, she met her siblings: two older brothers, two older sisters, and a younger sister. She was the only child from her mother, who had been the last of her father’s three wives. Two of her siblings were already married with children. They were glad to see her, but communication was difficult. “I couldn’t talk with them because they speak Basa,” she said. Only her elder brother could speak English, because he was in school.

The contrast in education was stark. When Esther told them she was in her third year of junior secondary school, they thought she was lying; most of the people her age in the village were still in primary school.

At Vine Heritage, every child goes to school. Of the current residents, 182 are enrolled, from primary and secondary pupils to university students like Godiya, who is studying sociology at Nasarawa State University, just across the border from Abuja. Godiya dreams of a career that comes with a uniform – any one will do. Esther has just finished secondary school and hopes to begin university later this year to study law. For many like her, returning to their villages would probably end those dreams.

Sometimes, a compromise is possible. Fifteen-year-old Mabel and Bethel spend their school holidays in Kaida village with their family, then come back to the home once classes resume. Their family first came to reclaim them when they were 10 years old. “I was happy, but I was not happy,” Bethel said. “I was happy that I had seen the place where they gave birth to me, but I was not happy to leave here,” she added. “Whenever I go there, nobody disturbs me, but I always want to come back.”

Beyond communication difficulties, the adjustment to rural life can be harsh. Children accustomed to running water, electricity and regular meals must fetch water from streams, adapt to harder living conditions, and endure the curiosity or suspicion of villagers.

The Stevenses usually wait until they consider the children old enough to understand before telling them how they came to the home. When Godiya turned 17, in 2021, her people came looking for her. “At first I said I was not going to see them because for how many years they did not come,” she recalled.

Gloria, 11, playing with other children at Vine Heritage Home.Photograph: Adesegun Adeokun/The Guardian

“It took us two hours to convince her,” Olusola said. “I pleaded with her, telling her that their coming was a sign of progress.”

Since then, Godiya has stayed in touch with her family, but she only made her first trip back in January 2025. Without proper roads, the only way to reach Bari village was by motorbike. Hours after leaving Gwagwalada, she finally arrived exhausted, and the entire village gathered to stare. “Everybody was just looking at me,” she said. “I didn’t understand the language and the journey was stressful. They were speaking, but I didn’t understand them.”

The youngest of nine children, Godiya was welcomed with joy by her older sisters, who embraced her through tears. They urged her to come back for Christmas, but she was dismayed by the lack of electricity or phone network, and currently has no plans to return.

Esther’s experience in Dako was similar. “When I went to the village, everybody came to see me,” she said. Some of the stares unsettled her. “The community was scary. The way some villagers look at you, as if there’s some evil thought in their mind. I was so scared because I didn’t want anything to happen to me.”

Sometimes, the danger is real. Four years ago, eight-year-old Monday was sent back to his village at his grandfather’s request. Monday’s mother had died giving birth to him. The family had recently converted to Christianity, and after Monday’s father remarried, the grandfather felt it was the right time to bring home the boy once deemed “evil”. But just two weeks later, Monday was returned to Vine Heritage. The elders in the village had been resentful, asking the grandfather how they should feel when others had killed their own children but he had brought his back alive. Fearing for the boy’s safety, the grandfather decided it was better for him to leave. “He called me and said, ‘I am returning your child to you,’” Olusola said.

When a family asks for their child back, the Stevenses try to find out if it is safe for them to return. But they cannot prevent every tragedy. About eight years ago, the Stevenses visited a mother who had recently given birth to an albino girl. She assured them that attitudes towards albinos in her community had changed in recent years, so they did not insist on bringing the new baby to the home. “I was asking questions: has anybody threatened you or the child? She said no,” Olusola recalled. Shortly afterwards, word reached him that the baby had died without explanation. He has never been able to discover what happened.

The years have taken their toll on Chinwe and Olusola. About two years ago, Chinwe’s health began to deteriorate, and Olusola urged her to move into a small flat nearby so she could focus on recovery. During school holidays, two of the oldest children, including Godiya, take turns staying with her, helping with everyday needs, while the others visit in small groups from time to time.

Chinwe has had a stroke, developed high blood pressure and undergoes regular dialysis. I visited her in the modest flat where she lives alone, after spending her entire married life surrounded by dozens of children. She spoke candidly about how she poured herself into caring for others while neglecting her own health. Apart from the small income the Stevens received as missionaries, they earned nothing, relying entirely on donations to care for the children. Now, Chinwe herself depends on donations to cover her medical expenses.

On the walls hang photographs of her in a graduation gown, taken when she earned her doctorate in agriculture from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Another, from two years ago on her 59th birthday, shows her nearly three times her current, frail size. Pointing to one, she said softly, “Look at me then, and look at me now.” She managed a wry laugh.

Olusola said the home had its future leaders among the older children, those willing to step up and already involved in administration and management. Some, he explained, had made it clear that even after graduating from university, they intended to remain committed to running the home. Whenever he was away for meetings, they kept things running. Unless visitors specifically asked to see him, the children received guests, handled day-to-day operations, managed money and accounts, and reported back to him. “The only thing they can’t do is sign cheques,” he said. “I have already told them that in the next 10 years, I will sit back and the home will be in their hands.”

Most donations to Vine Heritage come from individuals. On the day I visited, a donated cow stood in the compound. But with Nigeria’s soaring inflation, now at its highest in nearly three decades, many longtime supporters have cut back or stopped entirely. “Sometimes, when you phone people to remind them of their promise to pay school fees, they get irritated,” Olusola said. “Because of Nigeria’s economy, some of the people that used to support the home before are now finding it difficult.”

Mamedu, at ActionAid, believes the issue is more complex. The challenge, he says, lies in how the home is run. It is neither a formal organisation nor a business. There is no business plan, governance structure, or consistent paperwork like a typical NGO or charity would have. It is registered as a foster home. There are no clear systems for tracking how funds are spent or how accounts are managed.

“We supported the home to try to institutionalise the process,” Mamedu said. “We trained the staff on hygiene, childcare, some record keeping, even partner management. From the start, we told Olusola, let’s have a central way to account for every fund that comes in, so that when we say we don’t have money, it’s backed by proper records. But he tells us that this is not an orphanage; it’s a home.”

ActionAid still supports the home, providing monthly funds for food and covering urgent medical bills for the children. But the future is uncertain. The Stevens’ family-first approach has undoubtedly saved lives and nurtured emotional bonds among the children, Mamedu believes. But the original vision of reintegrating children into their communities appears to have faltered, which means the home keeps growing. Olusola admits that he once believed those communities would be more developed by the time the children grew up. He had expected more progress.

I asked Olusola if he would have done things differently. “When God asks you to do something you only obey,” he said. “It never occurred to me that we would ever have more than 20 children. After saving seven children, we had a pause of about one-and-a-half years, and we thought that would be all. We made our decision that whatever we gave to our biological child, we would give the rest.” But after the seven-year hiatus, Olusola recalled, “the floodgates opened, and more children started coming”.

Source: ‘The children are not safe here’: the Nigerian couple fighting infanticide

The disturbing evidence that witchcraft is spreading across Britain unchecked… 30 years after discovery of horrific voodoo-style murder should have ended it for good

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Warning: the article presented below contains graphic details of torture and murder that some readers may find distressing.

The main thrust of the article presented below was already the focus of an 2014 article which I posted in 2019, Children accused of witchcraft: abuse cases on the rise in UK. More than ten year after the publication of the first-mentioned article there is reason to again draw attention to this terrifying phenomenon. It is difficult to imagine that in our immediate environment children are abused, tortured, and sometimes killed because of the belief in witchcraft of the adult perpetrators, sometimes close relatives.

It all began with the discovery of the mutilated torso of a young boy floating in the river Thames, in 2001. The police gave him the name ‘Adam’ and under this name the poor victim became known worldwide. I have covered in much detail the horrific and sickening discovery and the harrowing story behind it. See my posts entitled The unsolved case of the torso in the Thames, Part I (dated March 25, 2019), Part II (March 27, 2019) and Part III (March 28, 2019).

Unfortunately, the case of ‘Adam’ does not stand alone as the article below amply demonstrates.

We must all be vigilant in identifying signs of child abuse and other crimes promptly and bringing them to the immediate attention of the authorities and relevant agencies. Vulnerable individuals in our society, such as young children, deserve a normal, loving life, free from threats and pain.
(webmaster FVDK)

The disturbing evidence that witchcraft is spreading across Britain unchecked… 30 years after discovery of horrific voodoo-style murder should have ended it for good

Published: February 26, 2026
By: Aidan Radnedge and Nick Pyke, The Daily Mail

A quarter of a century has passed since the death of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie and the shocking realisation that voodoo-style murder and abuse were taking hold in the capital of a modern, affluent democracy.

Victoria met a horrific end. Tortured, beaten with implements including coat hangers and a bike chain, deliberately scalded and forced to sleep in a bin liner in a freezing bathroom, she finally died of multiple organ failure at the age of eight. Her tiny body, weighing just 3st 10lb, was marked by 128 separate injuries.

Her ‘crime’? The girl was said by relatives to have been possessed by ‘kindoki’, or evil spirits, requiring exorcism by a pastor and justifying a campaign of sadistic violence.

The killing in 2000 and the public enquiry that followed should have been seismic: a warning to the public and politicians that, however improbable, belief in witchcraft was emerging as a fact of life in Britain.

Yet today, despite the horror of Victoria’s death and subsequent cases, there is disturbing evidence that ritual violence – involving beliefs and practices overwhelmingly imported from abroad – is continuing to spread unchecked.

The latest official figures show a huge increase in the number of children identified as potential victims of abuse ‘linked to faith or belief’, a category including claims of witchcraft and spirit possession.

Analysis released late last year by the Local Government Association, representing councils and their social services departments in England, found there had been 2,180 cases of possible faith-linked abuse in 2024, a disturbing 49 per cent increase in the seven years since 2017.

Moreover, the true scale of the problem could be significantly worse amid fears that ritual abuse is routinely under-reported because social workers and others wish to avoid being labelled racist.

Among the most notorious cases was eight-year-old Victoria Climbié, tortured to death in 2000 by relatives who believed she was possessed

With motives ranging from ignorance and fear to the demented belief that human sacrifice confers supernatural protection, and even wealth, the cases that do reach the public eye are harrowing, the majority with links to sub-Saharan Africa.

A recent documentary film, Kindoki Witch Boy, tells the story of Mardoche Yembi, who had been sent from the Democratic Republic of Congo to live with his aunt and uncle in North London.

At the age of 12, Mardoche was branded a witch by relatives, accused of bringing bad luck and subjected to two months of traumatic exorcisms. The film is now available on YouTube.

An even more disturbing case took place on Christmas Day in 2010, when 15-year-old Kristy Bamu was beaten and drowned by his sister and her boyfriend in the London borough of Newham after being accused of ‘kindoki’, like Victoria Climbie.

Kristy endured four days of torture with knives, sticks, metal bars, a hammer and pliers. He drowned after being forced into a bath for ritual cleansing. Kristy’s siblings were also beaten but survived because they ‘confessed’ to being witches.

Magalie Bamu, then 29, and her partner Eric Bikubi, 28 – both Congolese – were jailed for life in 2012. 

In sentencing them, the judge said: ‘The belief in witchcraft, however genuine, cannot excuse an assault to another person, let alone the killing of another human being.’

There are accusations of ‘possession’ in other cultures, too, with cases of abuse reported in Christian, Hindu and Muslim families, where some still believe in the idea of evil spirits known as ‘djinns’.

Just days before Kristy’s Bamu’s murder, Shayma Ali strangled then disembowelled her four-year-old daughter with a kitchen knife during a frenzied attempt to exorcise the girl.

Ali, who had gouged out the eyes of her daughter’s dolls to prevent them ‘seeing evil’, was sent to a mental hospital.

In 2005, two women were jailed at the Old Bailey after being convicted of child cruelty for torturing and threatening to kill an orphaned child refugee from Angola whom they claimed was a witch.

The Old Bailey was told that the girl, known only as Child B, was starved, cut with a knife, beaten with a belt and a shoe and had chilli peppers rubbed in her eyes to drive ‘the devil out of her’.

At one point, the eight-year-old was bundled into a zip-up laundry bag and told she would be ‘thrown away’ into a river. She was rescued after being found in her bare feet, shivering, outside a council house in Hackney.

The cleansing power of water, whether in a bathtub or a river, is a common element in African witchcraft rituals. In 2001, a young boy – later given the name Adam by the police – was pulled from the Thames after a passer-by spotted his mutilated torso floating near Tower Bridge.

His head, arms and legs had been removed in what detectives believe was a ritual killing, potentially as a sacrifice or in a ‘muti’ ceremony, in which body parts are taken in the belief they produce potent magical remedies.

The boy, aged between four and seven and found wearing only a pair of orange shorts, had recently arrived from Nigeria.

Britain’s leading rituals expert, Dr Richard Hoskins, brought into advise on the case, concluded that Adam was a victim of human sacrifice.

Victoria Climbié had been sent to England by her parents who hoped she would gain a better education than in her native Ivory Coast
Victoria’s parents set up the Victoria Climbié Foundation following her death, campaigning for improvements to child protection in the UK

His 2012 book on the subject, The Boy in the River was serialised in The Mail on Sunday and is now scheduled to be dramatised as a feature film.

Dr Hoskins concluded that the boy had been trafficked to London, speculating that he was butchered while drugged but conscious by a ‘babalawo’ witchdoctor using rituals from the Yoruba people Osagiede of south-west Nigeria.

In Yoruban religion, wrote Dr Hoskins, ‘deities forming a bridge between this world and higher realms require sacrifice.

‘Not necessarily human sacrifice, of course, and especially not nowadays, but the practice persists in some deviant offshoots.’

In 2002, a Nigerian woman called Joyce Osagiede told Glasgow social workers that she had married a member of a cult called The Black Coat Eyes Of The Devil Guru Maharaj. 

When later interviewed by British police in Lagos, she said she had been a cult organiser and had bought a pair of orange-red shorts similar to those found on Adam. She added: ‘I know he was killed in Lewisham.’

Osagiede later claimed to an ITV journalist that she had brought Adam to London and that his real name was Ikpomwosa. No one has ever been charged with his murder.

Yet it is the fate of Victoria Climbié that today remains the most notorious case of witchcraft abuse and killing in this country.

Victoria had been sent to England by her parents to gain a better education than in her native Ivory Coast but found only misery and death.

Victoria Climbié was starved, tortured, beaten with bike chains and kept prisoner in a freezing bathroom by her great-aunt Marie Therese Kouao and her partner Carl Manning (pictured)
Marie-Therese Kouao (left), Victoria Climbié’s great-aunt, was complicit in her murder

Her great-aunt Marie Therese Kouao and her partner Carl Manning were jailed for life in 2001, convicted of murder and child cruelty.

The case was followed by a major public enquiry under Lord Laming which, in turn led to an overhaul of child protection measures in the UK, including the landmark 2004 Children Act.

Even now, ritual violence receives all-too-little attention, says Lancaster University’s Professor Charlotte Baker, who is co-director of the International Network Against Accusations of Witchcraft and Ritual Attacks.

‘If you spoke to many people about this issue, they’d think it was something from about 1,400 years ago,’ she told The Daily Mail last week.

‘Many schoolteachers might feel they shouldn’t ‘go there’, if they suspect something is taking place because they’re not comfortable handling such issues.

‘This needs to be treated seriously, disclosures need to be treated seriously – and the right questions need to be asked.

‘The UK must improve and make sure that anyone who does speak up to make disclosures about this abuse being carried out are taken seriously and responded to professionally.’

Former Conservative MP Tim Loughton, children’s minister in David Cameron’s coalition government and later chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, had his own experience of trying to combat ritual abuse.

Victoria’s parents Berthe and Francis are pictured at her grave in Kensal Rise Crematorium in London, along with daughter Joelle, in 2003 on the third anniversary of Victoria’s death
A boy named Adam’s head, arms and legs were removed in what detectives believe was a ritual ‘muti’ killing – his torso was discovered in the River Thames near Tower Bridge in 2001

‘The particular problem [at the time] was among communities of migrants from places such as the Congo, which were very closed communities, mostly but not exclusively in London, with very evangelical Christian church settings,’ he recalls.

‘There were very strange practices, all connected with voodoo – abusing children in attempts to drive the devil out of them and all this sort of nonsense.’

During his time in office, he launched a task force on faith-based child abuse, but he fears that official attention has now slipped.

Rohma Ullah, director of the National FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) Centre – which also tackles what it refers to as witchcraft and spirit possession abuse – is among those who believe frontline staff are wary of raising the alarm.

‘Witchcraft and spirit possession are among the most poorly understood areas in child protection,’ she says. ‘That’s really concerning and alarming. We know the data is not good enough and that professionals don’t know how to act. They don’t know what to do.

‘Professionals are anxious about discussing someone’s faith or beliefs because it’s very personal.

‘They fear being accused of being racist, for example – and so questions don’t get asked and opportunities get missed.’

She says that teachers as well as social workers should be alert to signs of abuse – such as, for example, a child appearing tired through having to pray all night to be rid of a devil inside them, or losing weight because food is being withheld at home.

15-year-old Kristy Bamu was beaten and drowned on Christmas Day 2010 by his sister and her boyfriend in east London after being accused of being a witch
Following the murder, Magalie Bamu (left) and Eric Bikubi (right) were jailed for life 

‘I would say the situation is fragmented,’ she continues. ‘Social workers are skilled in safeguarding, teachers are skilled in educating, police officers are skilling in preventing and addressing crime – but they also need to be equipped with specialist knowledge on this particular issue.’

Ms Ullah suggests the current figures, disturbing as they are, ‘probably don’t reflect the true prevalence of something that’s very hidden.’

She believes allegations of witchcraft and spirit possession receive too little attention when abusers to court and suggests they should be flagged as aggravating features when the perpetrators are sentenced.

And witchcraft has now been included for the first time in new toughened-up Crown Prosecution Guidance, published today in a bid to tackle ‘honour’-based abuse, forced marriage and other abuses. 

Newly included in guidance for prosecutors are practices such as dowry abuse, immigration-related exploitation, transnational marriage abandonment and spiritual or ritualistic abuse linked to beliefs in witchcraft, spirit possession or demonic influence.

While there is no standalone withcraft-related offence, the Home Office said: ‘Prosecutors must treat these cases as serious criminality within the wider context of harmful practices and “honour”-based abuse, assessing which offences may apply on a case-by-case basis.’

Baljit Ubhey, CPS director of policy, said: ‘Our updated guidance equips prosecutors to identify emerging patterns of abuse, understand the wider context in which it occurs, and take swift, effective action to safeguard victims and bring perpetrators to justice.’

It is not as if we haven’t been warned. It is more than a decade since the United Nations reported: ‘Hundreds of children have been abducted from their families in Africa and trafficked to the UK, especially London. Many are raped and sexually abused.’

Commenting in The Mail on Sunday at the time, Dr Hoskins went further, arguing that ‘London has become the hub, the epicentre for a global trafficking enterprise involving thousands of children for exploitation, sexual abuse and even, in some unspeakable cases, ritual voodoo killing…’

‘There is a vast reservoir of lost children gathering in our own capital anonymously shuffled from flat to shabby flat – a dark pool feeding child exploitation and misery across the planet.’

Today’s evidence suggests that, chillingly, this terrible picture might now be darker still. 

Source: The disturbing evidence that witchcraft is spreading across Britain unchecked… 30 years after discovery of horrific voodoo-style murder should have ended it for good

Liberia’s Bishop Kortu Brown calls for Africa-wide campaign to end ritualistic killings at colloquium in Nigeria

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Referring to my recent October 24 post on the same topic, Lagos Calls for United African Action Against Ritual Killings, I draw attention to the below presented article in Liberia‘s leading newspaper, Front Page Africa. It is encouraging that more and more people are so worried about the scourge of ritual killings on the continent, demanding an end to these cruel, inhumane, outdated and criminal practices.
(webmaster FVDK).

Bishop Kortu Brown Calls for Africa-wide Campaign to End Ritualistic Killings at Pepperdine University Human Trafficking Colloquium in Nigeria

Published: October 27, 2025
By: Front Page Africa, Liberia

Brewerville – Faith leaders have been challenged to become agents of change by organizing themselves into a Campaign across the Continent of Africa to ward-off the practice of ritualistic killing and human sacrifice.

The call was made by Bishop Kortu K. Brown, the president of Liberia Council of Churches in Lagos, Nigeria on Friday, October 24, 2025 during a 2-day Colloquium organized by the Sudreau Global Justice Institute at Pepperdine University based in California, USA and Nigeria’s Lagos State Ministry of Justice in the inaugural 2025 Africa Colloquium Against Human Trafficking: A United Front Against Ritual Abuse and Sacrifice.

Bishop Brown who spoke at the fourth session of the colloquium which was intended to explore the role of faith leaders and civil society in combating ritual abuse and sacrifice. The session examined the spiritual dimensions of the practice, including the influence of mysticism and the involvement of traditional healers, witch doctors and diviners in the act of ritual abuse and sacrifice.

The session presented Christian and Muslim perspectives that strongly denounce ritual abuse and sacrifice and emphasized the importance of faith leaders in guiding ethical responses and mobilizing their communities, amongst others.

“This is a serious fight”, Bishop Brown asserted, “and it is as old as Africa itself. If we must address, we must properly mobilize and organize religious leaders across the continent to lead a campaign at the regional, national and community levels to stem the practices of ritualistic killings and human sacrifice in Africa”, he added. The faith actors at the gathering reminded participants that the holy books abhor evil including the shedding of innocent blood and that religious leaders are required by Scriptures to speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves, defend the rights of the destitute and the rights of the poor and needy according to Proverbs Chapter 31 verses 8 and 9.

On the question of why ritual abuse and sacrifice is so prevalent in countries with strong Christian and Muslim demographics, Bishop Brown attributed it to many followers of Christianity lacking full faith in God, desiring quick solutions and the beliefs, practices and norms of local communities where they reside that they have not excused themselves, amongst others.

“One of the elements of culture that trigger ritual abuse and sacrifice is the belief that the acts bring benefits”, he said, arguing that “many people believe that ritual abuse and sacrifice can bring them good fortunes, children, appease deities for opportunities, good harvest, victory during electoral processes, etc”

“In Liberia”, he argued, “every time there is an election, stories of ritualistic killings and missing people abound everywhere”. He referenced the campaign he led about four years ago in the country when reports of missing persons were being reported everywhere. (italics added by the webmaster, FVDK).

“People want power but they want other people’s children’s blood to be used to help them acquire political power. This is wrong”, he said, adding, religious leaders must rise across the continent and confront this menace through community sensitization, challenging harmful practices, reframing beliefs and norms, supporting victims and collaborating with other actors to address the practice.”

The organizers, in a statement to participants, hope that the event will mark a critical moment for the future of human trafficking on the African continent. The Executive Director of Sudreau Global Justice Institute, Prof. Cameron McCollum and Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State of Nigeria, Honorable Lawal Pedro San, FCIArb further hoped that the colloquium provided a space for leaders, advocates, practitioners and policymakers to develop strategies to eliminate ritual abuse and sacrifice in Africa and beyond.

The conference was attended by about 200 persons from more than 15 countries in Africa and the United States. The results of the colloquium will be analyzed and reviewed by participants to final a roadmap to deterring ritual abuse and sacrifice across the continent.

Liberia was represented by Church Aid Inc. (CAI) and the Human Trafficking Task Force of Liberia based at the Ministry of Labor of Liberia.

Source: Bishop Kortu Brown Calls for Africa-wide Campaign to End Ritualistic Killings at Pepperdine University Human Trafficking Colloquium in Nigeria

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Lagos Calls for United African Action Against Ritual Killings

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What can I add? I am so glad with the mounting interest in the importance of the fight against ritual killing, human sacrifice, witchcraft and superstition! Read the good news below.
(webmaster FVDK)

Lagos AG, CJ call for continental front to confront ritual killings, trafficking

Published: October 23, 2025
By: Israel Arogbonlo – Nigerian Tribune

Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Lawal Pedro, SAN

The growing scourge of ritual killings and human trafficking, described as commercialised evil thriving on poverty and silence, has drawn a firm call for united continental action from the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Lawal Pedro, SAN and the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba.

Speaking at the inaugural Africa Colloquium Against Human Trafficking: A United Front Against Ritual Abuse and Sacrifice in Lagos, Pedro stressed that the event was not merely a conference, but a continental call to conscience aimed at reclaiming the sanctity of human life in Africa.

“Ritual abuse and human sacrifices are not myths. They are real, expanding, and destroying lives across our communities”, the Attorney-General declared.

He warned that “Silence has never protected the vulnerable, it only protects the oppressor,” and urged all stakeholders to break that silence with truth, collaboration, and action.

Pedro stressed the disturbing convergence of human trafficking and ritual crimes, citing recent, high-profile tragedies across Nigeria.

These included the abduction and murder of two seven-year-old cousins, Chizaram and Chidinma Onuche, in Port Harcourt; the ritual-related killing of a college student in Ilorin; and the arrest of two Rivers State pastors found in possession of human skulls and coffins.

He backed his warnings with statistics, noting that the National Bureau of Statistics recorded over 150 ritual killings in six months (bold letter-type added by the webmaster FVDK) many of which involved youths lured by the false promise of quick wealth.

The Attorney-General pointed out that human trafficking has evolved into a global, highly profitable enterprise.

He cited global estimates placing the profits from human trafficking at a staggering $236 billion annually, confirming its status as a high-profit, low-risk crime linked to organised criminal networks.

Pedro, who also chairs the Lagos State Task Force Against Human Trafficking, detailed the state’s proactive steps to combat the menace.

According to the AG, “Between 2022 and 2024, the state rescued and supported over 4,700 victims and reached five million residents through extensive community awareness campaigns.

“Furthermore, Lagos trained 109 local government focal persons as anti-trafficking advocates and expanded shelter facilities for survivors.”

He also pointed out the enactment of the Lagos State Organ Harvesting Prohibition Law 2024.

This legislation, he said, criminalises organ trafficking and imposes severe penalties on offenders, including medical professionals involved in the illegal human organ trade.

Stressing the need for borderless cooperation, Pedro insisted that no single nation can defeat crime alone.

“This evil will continue to thrive where nations fail to collaborate. Africa must rise, not in rhetoric but in responsibility,” he posited.

Pedro commended international partners, Pepperdine University and the Sudreau Global Justice Institute, for their collaboration on justice reforms, which has now grown into a continental mission.

Reinforcing the call to action, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba, described human trafficking and ritual abuse as a global pandemic deeply rooted in the history of slavery.

He lamented that centuries after slavery’s formal abolition, its modern offshoots, human trafficking, ritual killings, and organ trade, continue to thrive under new guises, primarily for economic gain.

“Human trafficking is a business because financial considerations are involved,” Justice Alogba stated, adding that “Ritual abuse and sacrifice are grim offshoots of slavery, initially driven by economic motives.”

The Chief Judge insisted that an effective solution must address the deep-seated social and cultural beliefs that still attempt to rationalise the exploitation of human beings.

He called for a proper investigation of cultural ethos, stressing that “The use of human beings for rituals or any form of abuse, no matter how it is rationalised, is evil. The fight must start from our communities.”

Justice Alogba urged local communities to serve as the first line of defence by enhancing vigilance and reporting suspicious activities.

“If the community does not perceive human trafficking and ritual abuse as wrong, perpetrators will continue to go unpunished.

Every citizen must be their neighbour’s keeper,” he asserted.

The CJ also called for improved training and motivation for law enforcement and investigative officers, who he termed the foot soldiers in the anti-trafficking campaign, noting that traffickers’ operations are now well-organised and heavily funded.

Pledging the judiciary’s commitment, the Chief Judge assured that the Lagos judiciary would ensure that anyone found guilty of trafficking or ritual abuse faces stringent punishment in accordance with the law.

Source: Lagos AG, CJ call for continental front to confront ritual killings, trafficking

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And – on the same topic:

Lagos Calls for United African Action Against Ritual Killings

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has called for a united continental effort to combat ritual abuse and human sacrifice, emphasizing that the fight cannot be won in isolation but must be pursued collectively across borders, institutions, and communities. Speaking at the opening of the First …

By: TVCNews
Published: October 23, 2025

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has called for a united continental effort to combat ritual abuse and human sacrifice, emphasizing that the fight cannot be won in isolation but must be pursued collectively across borders, institutions, and communities.

Speaking at the opening of the First Annual Africa Colloquium Against Human Trafficking in Lagos, Governor Sanwo-Olu stressed that collaboration is essential, noting that “this evil knows no boundaries.”

‎The Lagos state government through the Ministry of Justice organized the two-day programme in partnership with U.S.-based Pepperdine University, with the theme, “A United Front Against Ritual Abuse and Sacrifice.”

Described as one of the most heinous crimes against humanity, the governor says, “Human trafficking is not an abstract problem. It is real, and it is close to home. It affects millions across Africa especially women and children through forced labour, sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and the deeply troubling cases of ritual abuse and sacrifice. Behind every statistic is a face, a name, and a story of pain that must never be ignored.”

(….. illegible….) we are strengthening prosecution systems, rehabilitating survivors, and raising public awareness. But the government alone cannot win this fight. It demands a united front, a coalition of justice ministries, law enforcement, traditional and religious leaders, community-based organizations, and the private sector.”
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‎The event also serves as a united move to dispel the dangerous myths that wrongly link power, success, or protection to the taking of human life, which fuel ritual abuse.
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‎On his part, the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), represented by Ezinne Nwaokoro, says the fight against human trafficking is now a national priority, which is why this colloquium matters.
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‎”If traffickers can collaborate across borders, so must we. And beyond just legal tools, we need strong communities, survivor voices, regional partnerships, and a justice system that protects — not traumatises — those who come forward.”
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‎The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba, commended the legislature for enacting stiff penalties against offenders and pledged that the judiciary would enforce the law with strictness. “The Lagos judiciary will ensure that anyone found guilty of trafficking or ritual abuse faces stringent punishment in accordance with the law,” he assured.

He also urged local communities to take the lead in identifying and reporting suspicious activities. ‎“If the community does not perceive human trafficking and ritual abuse as wrong, perpetrators will continue to go unpunished. Every citizen must be their neighbour’s keeper,” he added.
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‎The Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro, SAN, who also chairs the Lagos State Task Force Against Human Trafficking, outlined the state’s multi-pronged response to the menace. Between 2022 and 2024, he said, over 4,700 victims were rescued and supported, while five million residents were reached through community awareness campaigns. Lagos also trained 109 local government focal persons as anti-trafficking advocates and expanded shelters for survivors.

He further highlighted the enactment of the Lagos State Organ Harvesting Prohibition Law 2024, which criminalises organ trafficking and imposes severe penalties on offenders, including medical professionals involved in illegal human organ trade.
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‎“Let history say that from Lagos in 2025, Africa took a stand and never turned back,” he said. “Let us refuse to accept the killing of our children as normal, reject the exploitation of women, and silence that empowers crime. When Africa chooses unity over isolation, we can protect the vulnerable and safeguard human dignity.”
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‎The Director of the Sudreau Global Justice Institute, Pepperdine University, USA, Prof. Cameron Collum, called for a united African response to end ritual abuse and human sacrifice, describing the practices as “pure evil” that must be confronted through collective action, policy reform, and justice system strengthening across the continent. ‎ “While human trafficking is widely acknowledged and addressed globally, ritual abuse and human sacrifice remain largely unspoken issues. Everywhere I go, leaders acknowledge ritual killings as a real problem, yet few programs tackle it. This conference aims to change that by starting a Pan-African conversation to end these atrocities,” he declared.

‎The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Binta Bello, also warned that the growing nexus between ritual abuse, human sacrifice, and human trafficking poses a grave threat to Africa’s moral fabric and security.

(… illegible….) over 150 ritual killings were recorded in the first half of 2025 alone (bold letter-type added by the webmaster FVDK), ‎with women and youths as major victims. The National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), also documented over 168 ritual-related deaths in 2022 and nearly 100 in 2024.
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‎According to her, the Lagos colloquium marks a historic moment for Africa’s anti-trafficking movement. “For too long, global discussions on trafficking have focused narrowly on sexual and labour exploitation,” she said. “Today, we are expanding that conversation to include ritual abuse and sacrifice — equally grave violations of human rights and dignity.”
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‎The programme brought together about 200 delegates made up of lawyers, policymakers, judges, prosecutors, NGOs, and community leaders, from across the country and 15 African countries, ‎Including Kenya, Uganda, Cameroun, and Tanzania.
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‎The conveners say the Colloquium would become an annual event to track progress, strengthen partnerships, and sustain reforms across the continent.

Source: Lagos Calls for United African Action Against Ritual Killings

Making Witch Hunting History: Dr. Leo Igwe’s Fight for Justice

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Nigerian human rights activist and lawyer Dr. Leo Igwo needs no introduction on these pages.

Dr. Leo Igwe and I have more in common than a birthday (26 July); we both abhor human rights violations, mob justice, superstition, ritual murders, impunity and other forms of injustice.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dr. Leo Igwe on his relentless fight against superstition, witch hunting and ritual murders, and encourage him to continue to do so.
(webmaster FVDK)

Dr. Leo Igwe

Nigeria – Making Witch Hunting History: Dr. Leo Igwe’s Fight for Justice

Published: September 26, 2025
By: Scott Douglas Jacobsen – The Good Men Project

How can Nigeria’s legal system be strengthened to effectively prosecute witchcraft-related abuses?

Dr. Leo Igwe is a Nigerian human rights advocate, scholar, and founder of the Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW). With decades of activism, Igwe has dedicated his career to defending those falsely accused of witchcraft, combating superstition, and advancing secular human rights. He has partnered with international and national organizations to confront harmful practices rooted in fear and cultural beliefs, particularly targeting women, children, and people with disabilities. A vocal critic of religious extremism and media sensationalism, Igwe promotes critical thinking, education, and legal reform. His work stands at the intersection of grassroots advocacy, public enlightenment, and global humanism.

In this interview with Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Igwe intensified campaigns across Nigeria in 2025 to defend victims of witchcraft accusations. Through unprecedented collaborations with organizations such as the International Federation of Women Lawyers, the National Human Rights Commission, and disability rights groups, AfAW has expanded its outreach to over 15 states. Initiatives include memorial events, legal interventions, media engagement, and direct support for victims. Despite cultural and religious resistance, Igwe emphasizes that witchcraft is a myth, urging communities to shift from fear-driven persecution to rights-based advocacy. His work highlights growing momentum, though challenges remain entrenched.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Today, we are here with the prolific activist, Dr. Leo Igwe of Nigeria, founder of the Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW). Our primary focus is advocacy for people accused of witchcraft. A lot has happened this year, and we can dive into some specific events because I have notes. In your view, what have been the most significant achievements so far?

Dr. Leo Igwe: One of the most significant developments this year is that we have organized more meetings and awareness programs than in any previous year since 2020. Even as I speak with you, I am in Port Harcourt, in Rivers State, where we are organizing an awareness event—an event to remember victims of witch hunts and ritual attacks. It is the first of its kind in the country and in the history of our campaign: victims are being remembered rather than demonized.

These victims are not being pre-judged as guilty or condemned. There has also been considerable interest from groups wanting to partner with us. We have seen unprecedented requests and welcoming gestures from different organizations and civil society groups. For instance, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA)—several state chapters—has reached out to co-organize events. Historically, their focus has been on women and children, and accusations of witchcraft were not central; that is changing as AfAW’s work gains traction.

We have also engaged with the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria (NHRC). Nigeria has 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), and some NHRC state offices are reaching out to co-organize events like the one we are holding on Saturday. They are ready to collaborate to highlight these abuses.

The Down Syndrome Foundation Nigeria has also contacted us to partner. They work on disability issues. Unfortunately, people with disabilities are often stigmatized or labelled as “possessed,” which leads to ostracism and harmful so-called “spiritual” interventions.

A recent example that drew national attention was a reported case in Calabar in February 2025, where a pastor allegedly killed his daughter, a child with Down syndrome, claiming she could transform into a snake. Cases like this show how superstition and stigma can turn deadly, and we are working with disability advocates to confront these beliefs and protect vulnerable families.

In terms of people who are accused, demonized, or stigmatized—whether because of disability or because of problems within the community—this has been a significant focus this year. We have now organized or collaborated in organizing events in over 15 states across Nigeria. By next week, we are planning an event in Niger State, in the north of the country. That will be the first event we have organized there, and we hope to use the opportunity to strengthen our partnerships with local groups and build a more robust mechanism for defending the accused.

That said, these collaborations do not come without challenges. For instance, in Niger State, we are partnering with women’s rights and children’s rights groups. They told us they would prefer not to have accused persons present, because their presence might trigger confrontation with accusers or with those who suspect them of being witches. This has been difficult, but we see it as a step toward educating people that everyone should stand as an advocate for the accused.

Many people still hold on to those beliefs and fears, even while showing some sympathy for the accused. However, sympathy is not enough. The accused are innocent. The law is on their side. So we want to find ways to reduce fear and anxiety and encourage communities to join us in openly and categorically supporting those accused of witchcraft.

Our meetings are not always characterized by unanimous support for advocacy on behalf of alleged witches. Sometimes, participants insist that witchcraft oppression is real. For example, at a recent meeting in Owerri, a pastor argued that witchcraft affliction must be addressed.

This is the contradiction we face. People say they oppose torture, killing, and persecution, but at the same time, they continue to insist witches exist. For us at AfAW, this is contradictory. If anyone claims people really are witches, then the burden is on them to prove it—to vindicate or exonerate those accused, rather than subject them to persecution.

Religion and culture also reinforce these challenges. Christianity, Islam, and Nollywood movies all perpetuate the belief that witchcraft and demonic possession are real. These institutions and cultural products continue to fuel the mindset that sustains witchcraft accusations.

In the churches and in the mosques, these harmful ideas are still being promoted. We are working to weaken the grip of these narratives on people’s minds and to chip away at what I call “witchcraft evangelism.” It does enormous damage and undermines our work. We also want people to recognize that Nollywood films and African movies are fiction, not fact.

The filmmakers reflect the myths and beliefs of society, but they are still telling stories, not recording reality. We want to help reorient society so that these movies are understood as cultural fiction. These are some of our successes, but also some of our challenges. Still, we see steady progress as more people begin to realize that something does not add up when it comes to witchcraft accusations. More groups are welcoming us and reaching out to cooperate, so that together we can address and dispel this phenomenon.

Jacobsen: Now, about specifics, in Owerri, Imo State, on September 2–3, we observed the International Day Against Witch Hunts. That was an event reaffirming material and psychosocial support. What was the big takeaway from that event this year?

Igwe: A lot. In Owerri, for the first time, we marched through the streets of the city, sharing flyers and speaking with people about the problem. We also visited the palace of the traditional ruler, Eze Clinton, who received us warmly and pledged his support to our campaign. That was an important milestone.

Another highlight was a presentation by our legal counsel, Mr. Okorie, on witchcraft accusations and the law. In Nigeria, accusing someone of witchcraft is a criminal offence. It is a form of criminal defamation, but most Nigerians are unaware of this—or if they are, they do not take it seriously, because their beliefs often outweigh what is written in the law. Mr. Okorie made it clear that even calling someone a witch can lead to prosecution. If this is done in a church or public gathering, the entire act is criminal.

He gave the example of a crusade organized in Imo State shortly after our event. The theme was “That Witch Must Die.” We reported it to the police, who summoned the pastor, but unfortunately did not prosecute him. Mr. Okorie explained to our participants that such gatherings are legally actionable, and anyone who participates in them could also be held liable. His legal perspective shocked many people, as they were unaware that the law was so clear on this matter.

We also had some victims from different communities share their experiences, which reinforced the urgency of our campaign.

We also heard from victims who recounted their stories and experiences. One woman in particular, Mrs. Regina, told us that after some people in her family died, she was forced to undergo a ritual. They bathed the corpse, washed the body, and gave her the water to drink as an “exoneration” ritual. She is one of the people we are supporting now, trying to provide her with all the necessary help to get back on her feet.

Another experience I had was visiting a street named after a victim of ritual killing, Ikechukwu Okoroho, who was murdered about 30 years ago. A street was named in his memory. I went to that street and to the scene where he was killed, according to reports. These are some of the key takeaways from the Owerri, Imo State event.

Jacobsen: There was also a case intervention in Ebonyi State on August 20, involving the banishment of Joseph Agwu from Unwuhu community. The case called on the state to prosecute the attackers, compensate the victim, and end the practice of banishment. Could you elaborate on that specific case?

Igwe: Yes, Joseph’s case is one of several in Ebonyi. He was accused of witchcraft and banished from his community. His property was destroyed, and he was forced to leave. We reached out to him, and he recounted his ordeal. We are appealing to the state authorities to step in and protect people like him.

Another successful intervention we made was in the case of Mr. Kingsley, who had also been accused. He was paraded through the streets, humiliated, and substances were poured over his body. When we got the information, we immediately contacted the police.

Thanks to that intervention, Kingsley is now back in his community. I met him recently, and he told me how happy and relieved he was. People now look at him with respect rather than the scorn he used to face. This was a real success story.

Of course, not all cases succeed. Sometimes incidents happen in rural communities where it is difficult for us to intervene. Accessing those areas can be dangerous—there are threats of beatings, mob attacks, or even killings. People in those communities often suspect that anyone investigating is there to help the police prosecute them. So yes, we have had some successes, but the challenges remain significant.

Jacobsen: There were also several roundtables. For example, in Ekiti State from August 19 to 21, there was a stakeholder roundtable aligned with the World Day Against Witch Hunts. There were also NHRC partnerships in Kano, Okoro, Ondo, and Yola, Adamawa. Across the year, there were several such meetings—on January 21, March 6, July 21, and August 19–21. What is the role of these roundtables, and what were the key takeaways from each?

Igwe: For the one we held in Yola early in the year, the big takeaway was that too often, when these cases are reported, nothing is done. They appear in the news and then disappear. Victims receive no help or support.

Since 2020, AfAW has been a game-changer. We step in on the side of the accused to support and empower them. In Yola, our message was clear: there is now an organization that stands for the accused. We introduced ourselves, explained what we do, and intervened in a specific case where a parent and his partner tortured a girl to death. The mother had been accused of witchcraft, and the children were said to have “inherited” it from her. The girl was tortured and died. We have been working hard to support the mother and her three surviving children, and to push for justice.

That was our first meeting in Yola, and like with many of these events, participants told us nobody else was doing what we are doing. We know why—few people have the conviction and understanding that we at AfAW bring. However, we made it clear there is now a place where the accused can seek support, and an organization keeping watch on these cases. That was our takeaway from Yola.

In Ondo, we also held an event and combined it with a radio program. A woman named Olaemi Ijogun attended after hearing us on the radio. She told us how she had been accused as a child and beaten. Her case was heartbreaking. She said that both she and her sister had been accused of being initiated into a coven when they were very young.

In Olaemi’s case, the accusations came from a relative who claimed to have seen her and her sister in a dream. The parents were told the girls were going to covens at night. As a result, they were not allowed to sleep. They were forced to kneel and raise their hands through the night because the parents believed that if they slept, they would travel spiritually to the coven. The girls were denied sleep for several nights.

The stigma followed Olaemi to school, where it negatively impacted her social life. She still breaks down when recounting the trauma, which she did at our event. She called on people to stop making accusations because they leave an indelible mark on the minds and psyches of children. Since then, she has been working with us to advocate against witchcraft accusations.

For instance, she joined us in Ekiti State during the World Day Against Witch Hunts event. There, we encountered a case where a 10-year-old girl accused her grandmother of initiating her into a coven and of spiritually murdering people. This accusation was made on the radio after a station invited the family to speak. As a result, the grandmother’s business collapsed, and she was ostracized; the community avoided her. We intervened to reassure her that she had no hand in such things.

The background is that the family’s youngest child, about two years old, had been sick since birth. The grandmother was blamed for the illness. When I interviewed the mother of the 10-year-old, she even told me that the grandmother had “taken away the intelligence” of the children, causing them to do poorly in school, and was also responsible for the family’s financial struggles. In other words, they blamed the grandmother for virtually every problem.

To address this, we provided the family with money to conduct a medical test on the child, so we can determine the real medical problem and treat it appropriately. This shows that we are not only holding events, but also taking practical steps to intervene. We extend solidarity by combining advocacy with direct support. We are helping the grandmother, the victim of the accusation, while also ensuring that the sick child receives medical treatment. These are some of the key outcomes from the Ekiti State event.

Jacobsen: How did the World Day Against Witch Hunts itself go?

Igwe: It was observed on August 10. That year it fell on a Sunday. In Nigeria, the best thing you can do on a Sunday is either go to church or stay at home. Suppose you organize anything else on that day. In that case, it is not likely to attract much participation—except for the few atheists and humanists in the country.

On August 10, the World Day Against Witch Hunts, I attended a church where the pastor regularly preaches against witch hunting. In our work, we identify religious leaders who speak out against these practices. It is not easy, of course, but we make every effort to find such churches. I was told about this one, contacted the pastor, and he confirmed that he preaches against witch hunting. So I went there to listen to his sermon. We also recorded it so that we could use it later to show other churches that this kind of preaching is possible and necessary.

It was a small church, with maybe 50 participants—tiny compared to the massive congregations you see in Nigeria, where tens or even hundreds of thousands gather. That probably explains why this church holds what you might call a minority position in the religious landscape. Still, that was where I spent the day.

Before and after August 10, we have continued organizing events in various states to remember victims of witch hunts and ritual attacks. It has gone well. People are coming out and saying, “At last, there is a space where we can feel vindicated, where we can share our stories in front of an audience that supports us, rather than seeing us as guilty.” That has been the spirit of these gatherings. In fact, we could not accommodate all the events in August, which is why some of them were pushed into September. For us at AfAW, the World Day Against Witch Hunts has not really ended. Our event this Saturday will conclude this year’s cycle of activities tied to that observance.

Jacobsen: Let us turn to the media side of things—ongoing public education, advocacy, op-eds, and briefings. Which news and opinion publications have been most effective in disseminating information about this campaign, the organization, and the harm caused by these superstitions?

Igwe: We have had coverage of our activities in several online and mainstream media outlets. Some journalists have even drawn our attention to cases in which we later intervened. Among Nigerian media organizations, I must mention Sahara Reporters, ThisDay, and The Eagle Online, which have been supportive.

We have also had coverage in other outlets, such as the Nigerian Tribune, Punch, and The Sun. Some of these online and print organizations have tried to highlight the work we are doing.

However, let me be clear—before now, media agencies have overwhelmingly been part of the problem. Their reporting on witchcraft accusations often reinforces the very narratives we are trying to dismantle. This is something I consistently point out to them during media interactions.

Many journalists still report accusations in sensational ways. They tell me the more spectacular, the better—for clicks and traffic. They call it “clickbait.” So, you see headlines like “Witch Crash-Lands” or “Bird-Woman Found in Village.” It is absolute nonsense, but it generates attention. Moreover, in their pursuit of attention, they misinform the public, mislead communities, and do real harm.

These reports are unprofessional and unethical. Journalism should be about reporting facts, and it should be balanced. Instead, in their quest for traffic, media houses end up endangering lives. For example, there was a radio program where a child accused her grandmother of initiating her into witchcraft. We intervened, and when we left, the station manager admitted to me, “Leo, it was this radio program that caused the problem.” He realized it had put an innocent woman in danger and destroyed her socially.

So yes, the media have been part of the problem. However, with the kind of engagement we are doing at the Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW), some outlets are beginning to rethink. Some are realigning and realizing just how unprofessional and unethical their reporting has been. They are slowly starting to highlight our perspective. However, we still have a long way to go. Nigerian media organizations still thrive on sensationalism.

The media still thrives on sensational headlines—stories designed to attract attention and appeal to primitive superstitions that people find exciting. Slowly and steadily, some outlets are beginning to support what we are doing. However, there is still a tremendous amount of work ahead.

Another challenge is this: while media agencies are quick to publish sensational, false, and misleading reports about witchcraft—often for free—when we want to put forward our perspective, they demand large sums of money. Both online and broadcast outlets do this.

For example, if we want to appear on television, they charge between $500 and $1,000 just for the appearance. Additionally, you may need to travel, pay for flights, and cover accommodation costs. This makes enlightenment and advocacy extremely expensive, even though it is precisely what the country needs to counter these harmful narratives.

Jacobsen: Do you have any final points on that last topic?

Igwe: Yes, while a few media organizations are beginning to report witchcraft accusations more responsibly—rather than treating witchcraft itself as a fact or as a “certified” part of African culture—the progress is limited. Some outlets are starting to understand AfAW’s position and provide more balance. However, we are still far from the cultural shift we need. That kind of change will not happen through one report or even one event. It requires intensive public education and sustained enlightenment.

Unfortunately, in this area, many media stations have not been supportive. They are quick to publish sensational stories, like “an elderly woman turned into a bird” or “a witch crash-landed on her way to a meeting,” as was recently reported in Delta State. These kinds of stories get free publicity.

However, when AfAW attempts to purchase airtime to educate the public, we encounter significant costs. Media outlets charge us considerable amounts of money, making enlightenment campaigns very expensive. The imbalance is stark: free space for superstition, but costly barriers for rational education.

Meanwhile, churches and religious organizations that actively promote witchcraft narratives are given abundant airtime. They advertise events with themes like “That Witch Must Die” or “Exposing the Mysteries of Witchcraft.” These programs receive free promotion, which reinforces harmful beliefs.

By contrast, when we present our position—saying plainly that witchcraft is a myth—we are given little space, asked to pay heavily, and sometimes even put under pressure during media interviews. The pressure is on us to “prove” that something imaginary does not exist, instead of challenging those who claim it does.

The media landscape is still heavily skewed toward reinforcing witchcraft beliefs. We have not yet reached the paradigm shift where media establishments themselves start questioning and dismantling these narratives. That remains the challenge before us.

The cultural shift we need will only come when the media itself transforms. Until then, they will not welcome our programs in the way they should. Even when we pay for airtime, they often schedule us in the middle of the day, when people are busy at work. They refuse to give us prime slots in the evening or late at night—times when churches preach about witchcraft to audiences at home around the dinner table.

Without media on our side, we cannot fully succeed in making witch-hunting history in this region. That is why this work is so critical.

Jacobsen: There was a memorial action on August 29, connected to victims of ritual killings. You visited a hotel site linked to one of those incidents, to connect memory with today’s anti–witch hunt work. Could you explain what happened at that hotel, and how many victims are we talking about?

Igwe: I visited because of the incident that happened there in September 1996, almost 29 years ago. What happened then is still happening today. For example, earlier this year, in February 2025, in Lagos, a young man murdered his girlfriend, used an axe to break her head, and drained her blood into a calabash, supposedly for rituals. That case mirrors what happened at the Otokoto Hotel in 1996.

At Otokoto, the victim was an 11-year-old boy who sold peanuts on the streets. A hotel gardener lured him inside, gave him a drugged drink, and when the boy became unconscious, he cut off his head. The man was apprehended while attempting to deliver the head to someone who had ordered it for ritual purposes.

The news caused a massive uproar. There were riots in the city, and people began burning the houses of those suspected of being involved.

The people labelled as “ritualists,” in other words, those involved in ritual syndicates or racketeering, were the focus of that uproar. My visit to the Otokoto Hotel aimed to remind the people of Imo State that this practice has been ongoing for far too long and must come to an end.

The government seized the hotel property, and today it is used by the police. Not far from the police station, there is a street named after the young boy who was murdered. Those responsible were eventually arrested, and some received life imprisonment while others were sentenced to death.

I visited that property to show that the same problem we saw nearly three decades ago is still with us today—only in new forms. Now, people kill their girlfriends, relatives, or acquaintances for what they call organ harvesting. They believe specific organs can be used in rituals to produce wealth, success, or power.

The narratives of religion, miracles, magic, and supernatural intervention fuel these beliefs. All of them reinforce the idea that ritual killings can deliver prosperity. What we are confronting is a Herculean task—a complex, many-headed monster of superstition and fear. Only the flame of reason, compassion, critical thinking, and skeptical inquiry can provide hope for society and for the victims.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Leo. 

Source: Making Witch Hunting History: Dr. Leo Igwe’s Fight for Justice

Mystery of boy’s torso found in Thames after ‘voodoo ritual’ remains decades later

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The story of ‘Adam’, as the African child was named after his headless body was found floating in the river Thames in the UK.

It’s good that this horrific crime is getting attention again. Kudos to the journalism!

Already in 2019 I posted a detailed account of this outrageous ritualistic murder on this site, see my posts:
March 25, Part I: The unsolved case of the torso in the Thames (2001) March 2019 article March 27, Part II: The unsolved case of the torso in the Thames (2001) 2002-2003 articles March 28, Part II: The unsolved case of the torso in the Thames (2001) 2004-2005 articles

It’s impressive how the police uncovered everything, but it never led to a rial. The perpetrators went unpunished. A painful thought.
(webmaster FVDK)

The photo Joyce Osagiede claimed to be Adam (Image: PA)

Mystery of boy’s torso found in Thames after ‘voodoo ritual’ remains decades later

Published: September 7, 2025
By: Saskia Rowlands – The Mirror, UK

More than two decades since little Adam’s torso was discovered in the river Thames, police are no closer to finding the boy’s killer after he was slaughtered in a horrific “voodoo ritual”

The child’s torso was dressed in orange shorts (Image: PA)

The torso of a little boy from Africa was found in London’s river Thames over two decades ago – but his killer is still on the loose.

An investigation found the youngster, aged between four and seven, was smuggled into Britain and slaughtered as part of a horrific voodoo ritual. Tests proved he had been plied with a powerful potion of gold dust and quartz, drugged into paralysis with a type of African bean and had his throat slit.

But despite several arrests and forensic breakthroughs over the years, nobody has been brought to justice for the horrific crime. As the 24th anniversary of the horror approaches, we take a fresh look at the evidence and how the story unfolded.

Officers recovered the body upstream (Image: SWNS)

The discovery

On September 21 2001, IT consultant Aidan Minter was walking across London’s Tower Bridge when he caught sight of something floating in the water. It was just 10 days after the 9/11 attacks in the US and the city was still strangely quiet.

At first, Aidan thought it was a shop mannequin with a red cloth attached to it. But as the object passed under the bridge and out the other side, he realised he was in fact staring at a headless child.

It’s a memory Aidan lives with to this day. He said during an interview in 2020: “I do think about him – I’ll never forget it for as long as I live.” Police pulled the body from the water upstream, close to the Globe Theatre, later that day. They named him Adam.

Aidan Minter spotted the torso in the river (Image: BBC NEWS)

The first week

Early investigations suggested Adam’s body may have been in the water for as long as 10 days. Police conclude he died from having his throat slit. His arms, legs and head had all been expertly amputated. The body parts have never been found.

There were no signs of physical or sexual abuse, and he had been well fed. He was wearing nothing but a pair of orange shorts – something which later gave officers their first breakthrough. The label indicated they were made by firm Kids & Company and the size and colour could only be found in a small number of shops in Germany.

Detective sergeant Nick Chalmers was one of the police officers assigned to the case and says it was the strangest and most complex of his career. He added: “You definitely have a tie to a case, and there’s this drive to find answers. The one thing that has lingered is the frustration that we didn’t find all the answers.”

Retired detective Nick Chalmers worked on the investigation (Image: BBC NEWS)

African connection

Tests showed Adam had lived in Africa until shortly before his death. Because his body had been precisely butchered, experts decided it had been a ritualistic murder.

Some thought it was a rare so-called “muti” killing found in southern Africa – when a victim’s body parts are removed and used by witchdoctors. Others said it was more likely a human sacrifice linked to a twisted version of Yoruban belief systems from Nigeria.

Nelson Mandela later made an impassioned plea to the African public for help, saying: “The boy comes from somewhere in Africa, so if anywhere, even in the remotest village of our continent, there is a family missing a son of that age who might have disappeared around that time please contact the police.”

Nelson Mandela made an impassioned plea (Image: Mirrorpix)

Breakthrough

In July 2002, social workers in Glasgow became concerned for the safety of two girls living with their mum, an African woman named Joyce Osagiede. Council workers found bizarre, ritualistic objects in her home. And at a court hearing to take the children into care, Joyce told an alarming story of cults, killings and sacrifices.

Joyce Osagiede was considered a key witness (Image: BBC NEWS)

DS Nick Chalmers searched her home and found clothes with the same Kids & Company label and in the same sizes as Adam’s orange shorts. Joyce is arrested.

Officers were convinced Joyce was an important part of the story, but she was confused and kept changing her account. She denied knowing Adam, but was unable to explain the extraordinary coincidence about the shorts. Officers lacked enough evidence to charge Joyce. She remained in Glasgow awaiting an asylum decision.

The shorts were from a brand called Kids and Company (Image: SWNS)

September – November 2002

Forensic work narrowed down Adam’s birthplace to land near Benin City in Nigeria, which is Joyce’s home city. Pollen samples in his gut showed he had been living in the south-east of England for a few days or weeks before his death. Also in his stomach was an unusual substance made of African river clay – including vegetation, ground bone and traces of gold and quartz. The presence of ash showed the mixture had been burned before Adam ate it.

In November, Joyce was deported after the Home Office rejected her asylum application. She vanishes after landing in Lagos. Afterwards, German police say she lived in Hamburg until late 2001, which is the city where Adam’s shorts were purchased.

July – October 2003

A man named Kingsley Ojo is arrested as part of several human trafficking raids in London. Police discovered he was one of two contacts on Joyce’s phone. And during a search of his house, officers find an animal skull pierced with a nail, liquid potions, packets of sand and a videotape labelled ‘rituals’ which showed an adult being beheaded.

Kingsley Ojo was jailed with four charges of people smuggling and using fake documents (Image: PA)

Meanwhile, botanists at London’s Kew Gardens analysed samples of a plant found in Adam’s gut and discovered he was fed small amounts of Calabar bean, sometimes known as the Doomsday, and used in witchcraft ceremonies in West Africa. The dosage found would have paralysed Adam but not prevented any pain. Ground up seeds from the Datura plant, which acts as a sedative and causes hallucinations, were also found.

Traces of so-called Doomesday seeds were found in Adam’s stomach
(Image: Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

July – December 2004

Kingsley Ojo was jailed with four charges of people smuggling and using fake documents to obtain a passport and driving licence. He was said to have performed ‘juju’ ceremonies for other inmates behind bars.

An inquest into Adam’s death recorded a verdict of unlawful killing, hearing that he died from neck wounds suffered while he was still alive.

Adam was laid to rest in an unmarked grave( Image: BBC NEWS)

2005 – 2008

Kingsley Ojo offered to help the team investigating Adam’s death and claims he has secret recordings of Joyce. While awaiting deportation, he convinced officers he could help and spent two years feeding them information.

In December 2006, Adam’s body was laid to rest in an unmarked grave in a London cemetery. And two years later, Ojo is deported back to Nigeria after detectives decide they can’t rely on him.

In Nigeria, Joyce Osagiede finally admits she looked after Adam when she had lived in Hamburg in northern Germany and bought the orange shorts found on his body. A social worker assessing benefit claims later says she met Joyce on several occasions when she was in Hamburg and remembers seeing her with a small boy who she believes was Adam.

March 2011 – 2012

Joyce Osagiede claimed a photo found among her belongings in Germany was of Adam. She said his real name was Ikpomwosa and that she had looked after the boy, but gave him to a man called Bawa.

The following year, Joyce’s brother Victor said the boy in the photo was not Adam, claiming it was a misunderstanding. The BBC later met with Victor and Joyce who said the boy in the image was actually called Danny – who was later tracked down in Hamburg.

Joyce then suggests Adam was called Patrick Erhabor. She later identifies the man Bawa as trafficker Kingsley Ojo. Ojo continues to deny links to Adam’s killing and no evidence of his involvement is found.

The photo Joyce claimed to be Adam(Image: PA)

September 2021 – present

The Met Police launch a fresh appeal to find Adam’s killer to mark the 20 year anniversary of his body being found. The previous year, Joyce’s brother Victor revealed Joyce had died.

Aidan Minter, who spotted the body in the river, was diagnosed with acute post-traumatic stress disorder. He says he felt utterly helpless, knowing his discovery was somebody’s son.

For retired detective Nick Chalmers, the lack of answers is deeply frustrating. He said: “This was an innocent young child. There are people responsible for his death who haven’t been brought to justice. Twenty years on, I wish we knew the identity of Adam – and his parents. In reality, he is a missing child from a family, who probably don’t know he’s buried here in London.”

Source: Mystery of boy’s torso found in Thames after ‘voodoo ritual’ remains decades later

Nigeria: Enugu’s fight against ‘juju’ man

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The article below is from my heart. I will resist the temptation to quote from it, with one exception, the last sentence:
It is time we put an end to these criminal and barbaric practices.

Also read my previous – yesterday’s – post.
(FVDK)

Enugu’s fight against ‘juju’ man

Published: June 18, 2025
By: Editorial, This Day – Nigeria

The society must be united against barbaric acts.

To stem the tide of the get-rich-quick syndrome that has become a national menace, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State is taking the battle to spiritualists of various shades and nomenclatures. These ‘native doctors’ are believed to be driving the surge in ritual killings, kidnapping, robbery, internet and advance-fee fraud, among others. Although such reports have become rampant across the country, the Enugu approach includes pragmatic steps to execute existing laws while also taking proactive legislative steps to mitigate future occurrences.

Driven largely by ignorance and poverty, the bizarre practice of killing for rituals has become commonplace in Nigeria. So rampant is the crime that in many cosmopolitan cities like Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu and Port Harcourt, there is a growing group of desperadoes murdering innocent people, particularly women, children and sometimes the physically challenged, for ritual purposes. These murderers, sometimes called head-hunters, go to any extent in search of body parts. Due to these nefarious activities, ritual killing is said to account for many missing people in the country. That is the menace that the Enugu State government has chosen to confront.

Mbah’s intervention followed the rescue of an 11-year-old boy from a notorious ritualist in the state in whose house were discovered many dead bodies, including that of a pregnant woman. In line with Section 315 (Second Amendment) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 30, Laws of Enugu State, the suspect is now in police custody. Mbah has equally initiated the ‘Maintenance of Internal Security, Vigilance and Order Bill’ to checkmate criminal activities among native doctors, herbalists and related persons in the state. The proposed legislation, while making registration with the government mandatory for anyone who claims to render spiritual services, outlaws outright money rituals, and criminal bulletproof charms. It also prescribes 20-year jail term without an option of fine for anyone, who performs, facilitates, demands, directs, or participates in any ritual or traditional practice involving the use of human parts.

Again, where a person claims spiritual powers under this law, the burden shall lie on such a person, during investigation, to provide reasonable proof of the purported supernatural abilities claimed. Going further, the Bill  places obligations of surveillance and crime reporting on communities, traditional rulers and Presidents-General of towns, failing which they will henceforth be deemed as accomplices in illicit spiritual services. Landlords and proprietors of hotels, guest houses, and estate associations are to obtain and transmit valid means of identification and other details of their prospective tenants and guests to the relevant authority.

Even though the belief lacks common sense, perpetrators of rituals indulge in these bestial acts for the purpose of making ‘instant wealth’ or what some have aptly dubbed ‘blood money’. Many students of tertiary institutions in the country are also now involved in what is called, ‘Yahoo Plus’ with the aid of these rituals. Meanwhile, it is difficult to prove that these sacrifices, done at the instruction of some crafty traditional medicine practitioners and witch doctors, can catapult people from penury into instant wealth.

We endorse the approach by Enugu State. But beyond legislation, the society must be united in taking a stand against the perpetrators of these evil acts and the increasing erosion of our values, which indeed recognise and place hard work, rectitude, and morality way above riches and power. The churches, mosques, and traditional institutions must revive the crusade against money worship and illicit affluence as were the days of old. There is also an urgent need for enlightenment campaigns to put a lie to the erroneous belief that money can grow out of the body parts of murdered people. It is time we put an end to these criminal and barbaric practices.  

Source: Enugu’s fight against ‘juju’ man

Nigeria records 150 ritual killings in 6 months, experts call for urgent action

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Although the following article dates from early this year (January 30), its contents warrants presentation here.

Nigeria is notoriously known for its ritual murders, locally called ‘money rituals’, and I’ve included many news reports on ritual murder cases on this site. Nevertheless, the following is worth reading.

What makes the article even more harrowing is the, presumably, big gap between reported ritual murders and actual ritualistic murders. In Nigeria as well as elsewhere on the African continent, an unknown but significant number of people disappear without trace every year.

Warning: the following article may disturb readers because of its graphic contents.
(FVDK)

Nigeria records 150 ritual killings in 6 months, experts call for urgent action

Kaduna, Kano, Katsina residents seek death sentence for ritualists, cannibals

Published: January 30, 2025
By: Pulse, Nigeria

NAN reports that the police have apprehended many of the ritualists including a man who killed his mother, grandmother, sister and her son in Enugu.

A security expert, Mr Seyi Babaeko has raised concerns over the surge in ritual killings in the country, calling for urgent measures to address the trend.

Babaeko, the Managing Director of Absolute Security and Advance Protocol Ltd. expressed his feelings in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that over 150 ritual killing cases were recorded in Nigeria in the past six months.

NAN reports that the police have apprehended many of the ritualists including a man who killed his mother, grandmother, sister and her son on November 27 in the Amaeze community in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The Ogun Police also apprehended twin brothers for alleged murder and dismembering of a lady after luring her to their Abeokuta residence on December 22.

Similarly, a local church operator allegedly killed a 55-year-old widow on November 6, in her apartment at Umuediabali community in Ahiazu Mbaise LGA of Imo. He cut off her private organs and her breasts.

Also, the police apprehended a man, 29, who killed his mother on Christmas Day, shaved her hair and dumped her body in a well in Batriko, Eastern Boki LGA of Cross River State.

According to Babaeko, the rise in ritual killings in Nigeria is a disturbing trend that reflects deeper socio-economic, cultural, and security challenges.

He said that the growing desperation for wealth, widespread belief in supernatural influences on success, and the erosion of moral values had fueled the menace.

FURTHER READING: Ritual killings among Nigerian youth: what parents, govt could do (Pulse contributor’s opinion)

Economic hardship, high unemployment rates, and the glamorisation of sudden wealth in society have pushed many, especially young people into desperate and criminal actions.

The responsibility for the increase is multifaceted. While individuals who perpetrate these crimes are primarily to blame, societal values and institutional failures also contribute

According to him, the media, particularly social media, often amplifies stories of young people acquiring wealth mysteriously, indirectly encouraging others to seek similar paths.

The expert said that some traditional and religious leaders, who should condemn such acts, remain silent or complicit.

He said that the law enforcement agencies, which should deter such crimes through swift investigations and punishments, had not been proactive enough in tackling the issue.

The failure of law enforcement to track and punish offenders effectively contributes to the increase, he added.

He urged the government to take urgent steps to address the growing insecurity.

Nigeria records 150 ritual killings in 6months, experts call for urgent action

Expert raises concern over rising cases of ritual killings in Nigeria.

The government should strengthen the criminal justice system to ensure swift prosecution of offenders is critical. He stated;

Security agencies must intensify intelligence gathering and surveillance to dismantle networks involved in ritual killings.

Public enlightenment campaigns should be launched to counter the belief that human sacrifice leads to wealth.

Additionally, economic policies should prioritise job creation, as financial stability will reduce the desperation that drives some individuals toward such crimes

According to him, a coordinated effort among stakeholders is necessary to curb the menace and restore security across the country. He noted;

Community and religious leaders must play a more active role in addressing the root causes of ritual killings.

Traditional institutions should publicly denounce these practices, while faith-based organisations should emphasise ethical means of achieving success.

Schools must incorporate moral education into their curricula to instil strong values in young people.

Parents also have a role to play in guiding their children away from negative influences.

Tackling ritual killings requires a holistic approach that combines strong law enforcement, economic empowerment, community engagement, and a reorientation of societal values.

RECOMMENDED: Can you make money off ritual killings?

Source: Nigeria records 150 ritual killings in 6months, experts call for urgent action

Nigeria: religious leaders bemoan surge in ritual killings among clerics

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The following report illustrates well how widespread killing for ritualistic purposes is in Nigeria.

Ritual murders occur in all parts of the country, both in the predominantly christian south of the country and the islamic north, and are committed by educated and uneducated people, and by ‘ordinary’ people as well as high-placed persons, in traditional, political and religious organizations.

Despite this disturbing phenomenon, it is important and useful to emphasize also that the majority of the population abhor the cruel, outdated and criminal practices based on superstition, greed, and tradition, often facilitated or covered by the backing or involvement of ‘higher-ups’, resulting in a revolting impunity of these atrocities.
(webmaster FVDK)

Religious leaders bemoan surge in ritual killings among clerics

•Teenage suspects arrested for the murder of a female teenager in Ogun Photo: File copy

Published: March 1, 2025
By: Imoleayo Oyedeji – Punch, Nigeria

Christian and Islamic leaders have expressed concerns over the increasing cases of suspected ritual killings involving clerics across the country, attributing the disturbing trend to greed, and economic hardship.

Last week, an acclaimed Islamic cleric, Abdulrahman Bello, gruesomely murdered a final-year student of the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, Hafsoh Lawal.

According to the Kwara State Police Command, the 29-year-old suspect killed Lawal and dismembered her for alleged ritual purposes at a location in the Olunlade area of Ilorin on Tuesday, February 11, 2025.

On January 23, the Rivers State Police Command arrested two pastors, Prophet Bassey Umoren (60) and Prophet Elijah Anietie (50), after discovering fetish items—including caskets, monkey skulls, carved skeletons, and other ritual materials—inside their churches.

Several cases of ritual killings were also recorded in 2024, including the arrest of an Islamic cleric, Oluwafemi Idris, popularly known as Alfa, by the Ondo State Police Command. He was caught with human parts, including hands, kidneys, and tongues.

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, some religious leaders attributed the relentless pursuit of wealth, power, and economic desperation as the driving forces behind the gruesome acts.

Archbishop of the Methodist Diocese in Lagos, Most Rev. Isaac Olawuyi, decried the killings, noting that it was fueled by an insatiable hunger for fame and fortune.

He said some pastors saw their ministry as money-making enterprises, hence their desperation to get money at all cost.

Olawuyi said, “We have seen cases where pastors kill their church members and use their body parts either to expand their congregation or gain supernatural power. Some clerics even engage in ritual practices purely for financial gain.

“It is unfortunate, but it happens because some pastors see ministry as a money-making enterprise. They are willing to do anything to grow their church and personal wealth. Today, many people enter clerical work, ministries, and prophecy with no divine calling—only the ambition to enrich themselves.”

Similarly, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Lagos, Bishop Stephen Adegbite, condemned the ritual killings, stating that clerics involved in such practices were driven not by greed and deception.

He described the clerics involved in ritual killings as agent of darkness.

“A true servant of God would never take a human life. The Bible and the Quran are clear: ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ So, anyone engaging in ritual killings—whether Christian or Muslim—is not a minister of God. They are agents of darkness in clerical robes, and we must not mistake them for true men of God.

“If caught, they should face the full weight of the law. The church stands vehemently against such evil, and I am certain Islam forbids it as well. Such practices have no place among believers, let alone religious leaders,” he said.

In his comment, the Chief Imam of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Prof. Idris Ayinde, noted that many of the Muslims involved in ritual killings were young clerics who lack wisdom to complement their religious knowledge.

Ayinde said many young men who study Islamic theology end up tarnishing the image of Islam because they rush into leadership without acquiring wisdom.

“Learning wisdom requires sacrifice and patience—gaining insight from personal experiences of a tutor. This cannot be taught academically. However, many young clerics today refuse to serve under experienced scholars. They lack the humility to learn and grow,” he said.

Ayinde added, “In Islam, we believe whoever is destined to be rich will be rich. Islam encourages hard work, but it is Allah who grants success. Some people’s hard work may correlate directly with their prosperity, while for others, it may not.

However, no one should seek shortcuts to wealth. Islam does not condone any backdoor approach to riches. Any so-called scholar who engages in ritual killings cannot be considered a true Muslim, as Allah strictly forbids such acts.”

Source: Religious leaders bemoan surge in ritual killings among clerics

Kano State, Nigeria – man arrested for allegedly hypnotising victim to steal baby and remove eyes for rituals

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Reportedly, also in the religious north of Nigeria superstition, greed and ritual crimes occur….

Kano State is located in the North West geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is divided into six geopolitical zones commonly called zones. 

Kano State is an inland state. With an estimated population of 16,3 million people (in 2023) it is Nigeria’s most populous state though with a surface area of 20,131 km2 it only ranks 20th (out of 36 states).

The state’s capital Kano is Nigeria’s second largest city (after Lagos).

Kano state has a majority Muslim population and operates the Islamic legal system – Sharia – alongside secular law.
(webmaster FVDK)

Nigeria: Elderly Man In Kano State Arrested For Allegedly Hypnotising Victim To Steal Baby And Remove Eyes For Rituals

Operatives from the Bompai Police Station apprehended Yahaya after an individual, whom he had allegedly hypnotised, was caught attempting to carry out the bizarre request.

Published: January 2, 2025
By: Sahara Reporters

An elderly man, identified as Malam Yahaya from the Utoro community in Kano State, has been arrested for allegedly sending an individual to steal a baby to gouge his eyes out for ritual purposes.

Operatives from the Bompai Police Station apprehended Yahaya after an individual, whom he had allegedly hypnotised, was caught attempting to carry out the bizarre request.

In a video obtained by SaharaReporters, the ‘hypnotised’ person, identified as Kabir Sani, led the police to Yahaya’s residence, where officers discovered disturbing items, including a calabash with an inscription, white and red clothes, and various charms.

Sani said, “My name is Kabir Sani. I reside in Utoro, and I am 25 years old. I came to visit Malam because I was not feeling well. He gave me some medicine with water and told me to use my urine for three days.

“After I came back, he gave me ‘Tulare’ perfume and Hantu. Immediately, my brain shut down, and I was not myself. Anything he told me to do, I did without questioning his authority.

“He told me that he would give me N1 million, but he asked me to go and find a child whose eyes he would remove to use in preparing a charm for a soldier to make him disappear.

“I went to my sister’s house and told her everything Malam Yahaya asked me to do. I told her that I wasn’t myself anymore. I tried to find an 8-month-old child who lives in our house.”

“Unfortunately, I was unable to bring the child because if I had, Malam Yahaya would have removed his eyes. I’m pleading with people to help me beg Malam to return my senses to normal,” Sani added.

When SaharaReporters contacted the Kano State Police spokesperson, Haruna Abdullahi, he did not answer calls or reply to his messages.

Source: Elderly Man In Kano Arrested For Allegedly Hypnotising Victim To Steal Baby And Remove Eyes For Rituals

Kano State borders on Katsina State to the northwest, Jigawa State to the northeast, Bauchi State to the southeast and Kaduna State to the southwest.