I posted a few articles on the evil of ritual murders in Ogun State, Nigeria on December 31 and January 1.
The first one (the day before yesterday) was triggered by the ritual murder of Ayomide Agunbiade, a 12-year old boy, by his uncle who subsequently was killed in a mob action, jungle justice, in December.
The second posting, yesterday, was a kind of overview of ritualistic murders and related activities in this small southwestern state where in 2023 at least 15 people were murdered for ritualistic purposes. Among these 15 innocent victims was another 12-year old boy, John Soyinka, from Abeokuta, the state capital, whose dead body was found mutilated flive days after he got missing in November – see the article presented below.
The state Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, now promises to do his best to fight this evil which, unfortunately, is not unique in Nigeria. The number of ritual killings in Nigeria (‘money rituals’) is frightening. I estimate that every week at least ten ritual murders are committed in Africa’s most populated country. Ten innocent lives cut short among whom children, the country’s future. On a yearly basis this amounts to more than 500 victims of ‘money rituals’.
I hope that in 2024 this evil will successfully be fought, reduced and, if possible, eliminated. (webmaster FVDK).
Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu
Published: December 31, 2023 By: Taiwo Bankole – Punch, Nigeria
As part of its efforts to stem the rising cases of ritual killings in the society, the Ogun State Police Command said it would embark on advocacy against the menace in the new year.
The state Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, disclosed this while speaking with journalists on Sunday in Abeokuta.
Alamutu noted that the state remains the safest in the country, but the command is confronted with peculiar challenges especially the new trend of ritual killings.
He warned parents to caution their children to desist from any social vices, saying the police would not condone any form of criminality in the state in the new year.
Ogun State has had a fair share of frequent cult clashes in the outgoing year, especially in the Sagamu township, leading to the loss of at least 15 souls in the outgoing year.
PUNCH Online reports cases of ritual killings, the recent being the case of a missing 12-year-old boy, John Soyemi, whose mutilated body was found after five days at a community within Asero Estate.
Alamutu said, “2023 has been a challenging year because we have crime across the country. But I still insist based on available records that Ogun State remains one of the safest cities in the country as of today. Be that as it may, we have our own peculiar challenges.
“We are trying to level up. We are trying to be at least a step ahead of them, and the most disturbing trend now is the issue of ritual killings, which by its nature, is never done in the open except through credible intelligence before the act is committed.
“Unfortunately, the trend had continued to rise. So in the coming year, we are going to concentrate more on advocacy so that people will be aware of the fact that there is nothing like a money ritual.”
The CP continued, “You cannot make money by killing people, it is an agelong myth, it is a total fallacy. There’s really nothing like money rituals, they are just vicious, they are only being deceived to bring things they know it’s impossible to get like human head and all those stuff. By the end of the day, in their desperation, they go out for the eyeball, but then, there’s nothing like a money-making ritual.
“But our efforts in the coming year will be more sensitisation of members of the public. We will continue to place more emphasis on advocacy.”
“Cultism too is actually a serious menace, but the truth is that we are arresting them on a daily basis. But I’m happy the government is looking towards that direction and they need to put in place stiffer punishment for these people because it’s becoming a pastime, but the most disturbing news is that they are neither students nor artisans. They are just out there to take advantage of innocent people,” Alamutu noted.
Missing Ogun 12-year-old found dead after five days
Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola
Published: November 23, 2023 By: Taiwo Bankole – Punch. Nigeria
The corpse of a missing 12-year-old John Soyinka was reportedly found at Kotogbo community inside Asero Estate, Abeokuta, Ogun State on Monday morning with his eyes removed while his wrists were also said to have been cut off.
Our correspondent gathered that Soyinka was declared missing about a week ago and the incident was reported at the Obantoko Police Station, Abeokuta.
A resident of the area who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent that the young school boy was said to have vanished into the thin air after trying to check on a customer who did PoS transactions in a shop where the deceased usually assisted them but never came back.
The source said, “I know the boy very well, he is about 12 years old and he lived alone with his mother whom I guessed is no longer with her husband. His mother is into menial jobs like helping people to sweep and the rest.
“The boy too was going to school but I also usually saw him at a business centre where they do PoS operations and barbing. I think he must be assisting them there. What we heard was that, last week Thursday, he said he wanted to check on a customer who did PoS transactions, apparently maybe, there was something to sort out about the transaction but the boy never came back.
“The boy and his mother lived at Olasunkanmi community and so the Community Development Association reported the matter to the District Police Officer at Obantoko Station.
“The DPO informed the police at Adigbe and Lafenwa but it was the boy’s corpse that was seen at Kotogbo community just beside Olasunkanmi on Monday. The two communities are inside Asero Estate, Abeokuta. It is suspected to be a case of ritual killing because the boy’s eyes were removed while his wrists were also cut off. It’s an incident that has really thrown all the residents into mourning”.
When contacted for a reaction, the spokesperson of Ogun State Police Command, SP Omolola Odutola, described the incident as very pathetic saying that it was painful to note that despite the fact that the police swung into action when the boy’s case was brought to their attention, it was his mutilated body that was found days later inside the bush.
Odutola said, “The case is so pathetic. The DPO vigorously searched for this boy only to find his mutilated body inside the bush. The body has been released to the family for burial.”
Another gruesome murder for ritual purposes, based on superstition and ruthlessness. An innocent small girl lost her life for a ‘money ritual’. This time it happened in Ghana.
It’s a sad story.
Warning: The articles may upset readers for their graphic contents (FVDK)
Wassa Nkyirifi: Man kills 7-year-old niece for money rituals
Wassa Nkyirifi: Man kills 7-year-old niece for money rituals. The suspect in white shirt at the scene where the body was exhumed on Friday morning
Residents of Wassa Nkyirifi, a farming community in the Western Region woke up on Friday morning to the horror of a suspected murder of a seven-year-old girl by her uncle for money ritual purpose.
After allegedly killing and burying the body in a nearby bush, the suspect, identified only as Augustine, a 37-year-old farmer reported to the police that his niece had gone missing.
The 7-year-old victim has been identified as Sandy Manu.
The suspect then went further to make public announcements on radio asking for help to locate his niece.
The police in the Wassa Amenfi East Municipal area however, suspected foul play because of Augustine’s responses to the questions and why he was desperately concerned about the missing young girl.
Augustine’s body language, his responses and his eventual exhibition that he was terrified according to a police source, prompted an intense interrogation by the police during which he burst into tears.
According to the police source, he then confessed that he had killed the niece for money ritual so he could evade poverty.
He is said to have told the police that, he complained about poverty to one elderly man in the Wassa Nkyirifi community and the elderly man told him to use one of his many nieces for money rituals.
Upon meditation, he went to see a spiritualist the next day to help him go through the process of money rituals.
The suspect said the spiritualist then told him to bring human head – that is the head of one of his nieces.
From there, he went in for Sandy and killed her.
After killing and beheading her, he buried the headless body and concealed the head for the process.
He then led the police to the nearby bush where the headless body was buried and the body was exhumed.
The head was also retrieved from another location.
The body has since been deposited at the morgue and the suspect is currently in police custody.
A video from the scene where the body was exhumed has been shared on social media by some of the community members.
Man allegedly kills 7-year-old niece for money rituals
Published: August 5 2023 By: Myjoyonline, Ghana
Residents of Wassa Nkyirifi, a farming community in the Western Region, woke up on Friday morning to the horror of a suspected murder of a seven-year-old girl by her uncle.
After allegedly killing and burying the body in a nearby bush, the suspect, identified only as Augustine, a 37-year-old farmer reported to the police that his niece had gone missing.
The suspect then went further to make public announcements on the radio asking for help to locate his niece.
The police in the Wassa Amenfi East Municipal area, however, suspected foul play because of Augustine’s responses to their questions and how he was desperately concerned about the missing young girl.
Augustine’s body language, his responses and his eventual exhibition that he was terrified according to a police source, prompted an intense interrogation during which he burst into tears.
According to the police source, he then confessed that he had killed the niece for money ritual so he could evade poverty.
The seven-year-old victim has been identified as Sandy Manu.
The suspect is said to have told the police that, he complained about poverty to one elderly man in the Wassa Nkyirifi community. The elderly man advised him to use one of his many nieces for money rituals.
Upon meditation, he allegedly went to see a spiritualist the next day to help him go through the process of money rituals.
The suspect said the spiritualist then told him to bring a human head. From there, he went in for Sandy and murdered her.
After killing and beheading her, he reportedly buried the headless body and concealed the head in the process.
The suspect then led the police to the nearby bush where the headless body was buried and the body was exhumed.
The head was also retrieved from another location. The body has since been deposited at the morgue and the suspect is currently in police custody.
Meanwhile, a video from the scene where the body was exhumed has been shared on social media by some of the community members.
If one could speak of good news when hearing about an attempted ritual murder then the good news comes from Ghana.
Reportedly, a 29-year old man abducted a 5-year old girl with the intention to have her sacrificed in a money ritual, but thanks to an honest herbalist whom he presented the child the death of the innocent victim was prevented.
The incident happened in Accra, last month, and this week the accused stood trial. An Accra Circuit Court sentenced the accused – who denied – to 60 months in jail. A victory for justice. Hail to the herbalist and to judicial system in Ghana! Read the full story below (webmaster FVDK).
Head porter jailed 60 months for attempting to use 5-year old girl for money ritual
Published: May 30, 2023 By: My Joy Online (myjoyonline.com)
An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced a 29-year-old head porter to 60 months imprisonment for presenting a five-year-old girl for money ritual at Pokuase in Accra.
Isaac Gabianu kidnapped the victim at a public toilet in Accra and presented the minor to a herbalist at Pokuase for money ritual. The herbalist, however, sent the victim and the convict to the Police. Charged with child stealing, Gabianu pleaded not guilty.
At the end of the trial, the court presided over by Mrs Christina Cann found him guilty.
The court held that the prosecution at the end of the trial succeeded in proving the offence against Gabianu. It, therefore, handed down a deterrent sentence. In his plea for mitigation, Gabianu, who was self-represented, said: ” I cannot confess what I have not done.”
The prosecution led by Superintendent of Police, Agnes Boafo, narrated that the complainant, Patricia Asamoah, was a trader residing at Mallam, Accra. It said the convict was a head porter residing at CMB, Accra.
On April 3, 2023, at about 7:30 pm, the complainant went to the Charge Office of the Railway Police Station, Accra, to report her missing daughter. The prosecution said the complainant indicated that she had gone to the Kantamanto Market, Accra, with the five-year-old daughter and had asked her to wait for her (complainant) in front of a public toilet while she attended to nature’s call at about 1730 hours.
It said after attending to nature’s call, the complainant could not find her daughter and on April 4, 2023, at about 12:30 am, the Police at Pokuase received information that Gabianu had been arrested over an attempted money ritual and brought to them by a herbalist.
The prosecution said the Police at Pokuase then handed over Gabianu to the Accra Railway Police for further investigations. It said the herbalist indicated that Gabianu had brought the victim to him to be killed for a ” sacrifice for money ritual”.
The prosecution said in Gabianu’s caution statement, he admitted the offence.
Warning: The following article contains graphic details of a violent criminal act.
At first sight one is tempted to think of yet another case of ritual murder in Liberia, as the article reads: ‘(…) the mutilated body of little Saah Momo was discovered in the home of his grandfather in Bomi County.’ It occurred early this year, in January.
It is known that in a large number of ritual murder cases relatives are involved – as traditionally this is part of the ritual to create or obtain ‘juju’, the spiritual power which perpetrators seek to increase their wealth, power or social prestige. However, it is not plainly stated by the police and in the article – as it is often the case – that this is about a ritual killing. In Liberia, police and journalists don’t mince their words when reporting on ritual murder cases.
The Liberian National Police arrested six persons in connection with the violent death of the 2-year old boy, Saah Momo, including the mother and an uncle of the victim. The deceased’s uncle testified in court that he had murdered his nephew upon the order of the child’s mother. Allegedly, she was motivated to have her son murdered for financial gains: she wanted to sell his organs. It has not been revealed with whom the suspects wished to trade body parts with.
Was the violent death of little Saah Momo a case of organ trafficking or another case of ritualistic murder?
Some countries in the region, e.g. Nigeria, are notorious for murders committed by criminals who wish to harvest human organs in order to sell them – albeit for ritualistic purposes to superstitious people who believe that in this way, with ‘juju’, they can increase their wealth, success in business or in politics. These murders in Nigeria and Ghana are often committed by so-called Yahoo Boys and the criminal acts are locally known as ‘money rituals’.
In Liberia, murder cases for purposes of organ trafficking are far less widespread but since – by definition – these dark activities take place in secret, we don’t know on what scale they happen.
In short, the article is not clear whether the murder of little Saah Momo was a case of ritualistic murder or of organ trafficking. However, in both cases there is a clear ritualistic component as organ trafficking is not carried out with the purpose of organ transplantation, aiming to improve a patient’s health, but to sell organs to superstitious people and ‘juju’ men who wish to use human body parts for ritualistic purposes. (webmaster FVDK)
The convicts along with some relatives
Liberia: Two Convicted for butchering a 2-year-old boy in Bomi County
Published: May 23, 2023 By: Rachel T. Saykiamien – The Daily Observer, Liberia
Jurors at the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Bomi County have brought down a unanimous guilty verdict against two men who brutally murdered a two-year-old boy, Saah Momo, in Zealey, Dowein District, Bomi County.
The verdict followed a final argument in court by both prosecution and defense lawyers on May 23, 2023.
Defendants Momo Gray, the uncle of the deceased child, and his brother and father of the child,, Siafa Gray, were found guilty of murder; a first-degree felony under the law. In February of this year, the two were indicted by the grand jury of Bomi County for their involvement in the murder of Saah Momo.
On May 10, Momo Gray, the accused uncle of the two-year-boy, pleaded guilty to the crime of murder after his appearance at the 11th Judicial Circuit Court, while the father of the boy, Siaffa Gray, pleaded not guilty.
From the beginning, several individuals, including the mother and grandparents, were arrested but released after it was established that they had no hand in the act. However, the uncle and father, who played a major role in butchering the boy, were charged and tried in court.
On May 23, 2023, defendants Momo Gray and Siafa Gray were found guilty of murder; a crime that contravenes Chapter 14 Subchapter 14.1 of the penal code law of Liberia. Under the law, a person who is convicted of such a crime may be sentenced to death or life imprisonment.
A pre- sentencing hearing is expected to take place before the defendants are convicted.
Judge T. Ciapha Carey has ordered the clerk of the court to inform the probation officer of the Ministry of Justice to investigate the lives of the defendant’s prior to the incident. This is done to ascertain if the defendants were law abiding citizens or had stayed out of trouble prior to the crime.
In January, the mutilated body of little Saah Momo was discovered in the home of his grandfather in Bomi County. The Liberia National Police (LNP) arrested the deceased’s uncle and five other persons in connection to the death of the child.
Those arrested were Momo Gray, Siaffa Gray, Cooper Ross, Satta Wonda, the mother of the deceased, and Omacy Nyei.
At the time, police established that all of the suspects committed the act for financial gain and were subsequently brought to the headquarters of the Liberia National Police to be questioned. But the police failed to state whether their investigation discovered who these suspects were trading body parts with. However, four people, including the deceased’s mother and grandparents, were set free.
Defendant Momo Gray, the uncle of the deceased, taking the witness stand and testifying on his behalf on May 19, admitted to murdering his nephew, but alleged that he acted upon the order of the child’s mother; whom he said was encouraged to have her son killed in order to sell the major organs for money due to hardship.
The following article is highly recommended reading, excellent work by Victor Ayeni!
In Nigeria, nearly every day ‘money rituals’ are reported, maybe not surprising in view of the country’s large population of well over 200 million people – Africa’s largest – even though just one ritual murder is already one too much. However, on the other hand, it could well be that the cases known and reported are only the tip of an iceberg.
But what do we know about ‘money rituals’, as ritual murders are being called in this part of the African continent? Most articles reporting on these crimes, which are driven by greed – for power, prestige or wealth – and based on superstition, are superficial. It is hard to find an article which treats this phenomenon in depth and in a serious way. The Nigerian journalist Victor Ayeni has done a great job and he’s to be commended for this achievement.
The traditional history of ritualistic killings and human sacrifices point to protection of the community’s interest by sacrificing one of its members. Cruel as this might be in our eyes nowadays, in the 21st century, back then relatives of the victim may have been proud of their family member’s contribution to the community. We see nowadays in many parts of the African continent that the ritualistic act which demands the death of the victim is for the (pretended, aimed) benefit of one person only who thus wants to increase his or her power, wealth or health. Moreover, the victim is often picked at random. Involuntary, the victim is attacked and tortured, what results is a gruesome, a wicked crime. Sometimes, specific groups are targeted, e.g. people with albinism, hunchbacks or bald people.
In some countries ambitious politicians tend to resort to these practices in the hope of increasing their political chances and success, resulting an increase in ritual murders during election campaigns. It’s a shocking reality – even though we don’t known the full scale of it.
‘Money rituals’ in Nigeria show another characteristic: some people consider it a business model, which enables them to ‘earn’ money from superstitious people who believe that by using another man’s organs or other body parts, ‘juju’ will be created, to their personal benefit.
Victor Ayeni explains well how this works in Nigeria. A very informative article which ends with the question ‘Are money rituals real or a fiction?’
The reader may answer this question for him- or herself after reading Ayeni’s valuable article. (webmaster FVDK)
Money ritual seekers’ dark walk into deceit, misery
Published: March 18, 2023 By: Victor Ayeni, Punch – Nigeria
VICTOR AYENI explores the subject of money ritual in popular culture, religious houses, and Nollywood movies, why the purveyors of the belief succeed in deceiving youths, and its implications on the public
The apprehension in the air was so thick that one could cut through it with a knife as Olajide (surname withheld) narrated his journey through a maze of confusion.
The 27-year-old graduate was helping a friend manage a pig farm in Osogbo, Osun State, when another friend introduced him to Internet scam, which in Nigerian lingo is called Yahoo Yahoo.
But his experience shocked the wits out of him.
“I was being paid N10,000 per month at the farm, but the money couldn’t meet my needs as time went on, so a friend of mine bought me an iPhone and from there, I was introduced to Yahoo Yahoo.
“I started off on a neutral ground and I was getting little money from my clients (victims), but after like three months into it, things became so tough that I couldn’t fend for myself again. I explained my situation to a friend and he took me to an Alfa (cleric),” Olajide recalls, shaking his head in disbelief.
This Alfa was known in Yahoo boys’ circles to be adept in the art of money magic – an occult economy that involves the performance of rituals to supernaturally conjure money.
Abode of fear
When Olajide described his financial difficulties to the Alfa, he was given two options.
“Alfa said he would help me out with small osole. I asked what he meant by that and he explained that osole (spiritual assistance) is different from oso (human body parts).
“Alfa told me oso required the use of human parts for material wealth with repercussions such as untimely death or insanity, whereas osole required the use of plants and animals for the same purpose but with lesser repercussions like being poor. I opted for osole,” he added.
Olajide was instructed to pay a sum of N12,000 into the cleric’s bank account for the materials and return in four days.
Five days later, when Olajide put a call through to the Alfa, he was asked to return for the materials.
He said, “When I got there, he gave me a small black soap and told me to find small palm oil and go to a flowing river to bathe that I had to cleanse myself first before I would use the materials.
“He explained to me that the soap was made with pepper mixed with some herbs and directed me to rub the palm oil on my body first before bathing with the soap. He warned that if I didn’t use the palm oil first, I was going to disappear and I would not be seen again. So, I did as I was told.”
Olajide said he complied with all the instructions.
“When I went back to him, he gave me three different materials: a soap to bath with every morning by 4am, a potion which I must swallow daily after taking my bath, and a powdery mixture to be licked every night before I go to bed.
“He said the herbal concoction was made from animals like crow, chameleon, cat, pigeon, and some leaves. He also told me that I would experience more hardship during the first two or three months of using the ritual materials, but I should endure it because after that, the tide will turn and money will be flowing in from my clients,” he added.
The idea of recipients conjuring money through magic is a familiar theme in many Nigerian films and religious houses.
Whether through animal sacrifices or trafficking in human parts, it is erroneously believed that these rites bring stupendous wealth to those who practice them.
When our correspondent inquired from Olajide if the magic worked, and in what specific ways the money came to him, he was silent.
When he spoke, he recalled faithfully following all the instructions given to him, but for the next two months, as the cleric predicted, he experienced serious financial hardship.
At this point, he said his friend introduced him to a client (victim), who had been defrauded several times.
Olajide then began to siphon money from the victim.
The inexplicable ease with which his ‘client’ gave him money implied that he (client) had been hypnotised.
“I ended up getting plenty money from this client. The cleric had assured me of having lots of money from osole, but he advised me to return to him for an upgrade of the ritual by paying N450,000, saying I would be making millions of naira after using the alleged ‘upgraded’ soap.
“But I didn’t go back because I asked my friend who took me there about what the new upgrade entails since that was what he did, and he warned me sternly against it because of the repercussions behind it.
“He said once I bathe with the ‘upgraded’ soap the cleric would prescribe, I could only wear the clothes and shoes I had and I must not change them for the next two years,” he added.
Four months after he dabbled in osole, Olajide realised that his fortunes began to dwindle as reality pulled the plug on his gravy train.
He said, “Things suddenly turned sour after four months. The client I was getting money from was arrested and ended up in jail and I no longer had any financial link. I ended up becoming more broke than before.
“My friend found me another client but I ended up wasting money rather than gaining some. Then, I was taken to another voodoo practitioner. This one said he would perform a ritual for me but one of its conditions was that I must never have sex with more than one girlfriend for the next three years and if I did otherwise, I would run mad.
“It was then I decided to withdraw from this stuff and went back into teaching for some time. Later on, I was introduced to the crypto business that I now do.”
The poverty factor
The belief in gaining wealth through mystical practices has gained much appeal over the decades in Nigeria with the exponential rise in poverty and lack of equal economic opportunities, especially for young people.
According to the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index Survey released by the National Bureau of Statistics, 63 per cent of Nigerians, which account for 133 million citizens, are multi-dimensionally poor due to a lack of access to health, education, living standards, employment, and security.
The unemployment rate in Nigeria has not only increased constantly in the past years, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group has also projected that the country’s unemployment rate will hit 37 per cent in 2023.
However, investigations by Saturday PUNCH showed that many Nigerians fervently believe that they can make a lot of money regardless of the dire economic situations in the country through a supernatural supply of money.
Ritual killings
In Nigeria, there are various tales around wealth creation that foster the concept of one becoming rich through the manipulation of metaphysical forces in nature.
Among the Yoruba, South-West Nigeria, there is the aworo phenomenon that is believed to draw large patronage to a trader in a marketplace.
There is also awure (wealth booster) which can be prepared as a traditional soap or concoction.
Research shows that many Nigerians plank their belief in money rituals on mostly unverified reports.
This has drawn many into desperate measures, including taking the lives of close family members and friends.
In December 2021, a suspected Internet fraudster from Edo State, identified only as Osas, allegedly murdered his girlfriend, Elohor Oniorosa, for ritual purposes.
In November 2022, another Yahoo boy, alongside his herbalist, one Ike, aka Ogenesu, was arrested after policemen recovered suspected human parts at the herbalist’s place in Obiaruku, in the Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State.
But Ogun State appeared to have the highest number of reported incidents of such killings.
For instance, the state recorded at least 15 cases of ritual killings between January 2022 and 2023.
In January, the Ogun State Police Command arrested a 36-year-old herbalist, Taiwo Ajalorun, who reportedly confessed to the gruesome killing of a 26-year-old mother of two and two others in the Ijebu Ode area of the state.
On December 28, 2022, in the Ijebu-Ode area of the state, a gang reportedly killed three women, including a girlfriend of one of them, after sleeping with her.
In February 2022, two suspected criminals who were alleged to be ritualists were set ablaze by an angry mob for being in possession of human parts in Oja-Odan in the Yewa-North Local Government Area of the state.
Also, in October 2022, two suspected Internet fraudsters allegedly killed a 40-year-old man, Abdullahi Azeez, in Owode-Egba.
But probably the most pathetic was that of some teenagers who were caught burning the head of a female, Sofia, whom they killed for money ritual in the Oke Aregba area of Abeokuta.
One of the teenagers, Soliu Majekodunmi, who was Sofia’s boyfriend, said in January 2022 that he learnt the practice through Facebook.
Majekodunmi said he typed, ‘How to make money ritual’ on Facebook and got the details, adding that the link instructed him to behead and burn a female skull in a local pot.
Shaman or sham man?
Our correspondent found many Facebook accounts and groups created for seekers of money rituals.
Most of the social media pages had photographs of new naira notes placed in African traditional pots, calabashes, and cowrie-strewn bags, and some showed animal blood splattered on the ground around them.
Posing as a school teacher, our correspondent reached out to one of the acclaimed shamans, Babatunde (surname withheld), who resided in Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State.
In his response, he introduced his shrine as the ‘Arab Money Family’ and sent his phone number to our correspondent.
In a rather confident tone, Babatunde said, “If you are ready, even if it is this night, you will pay me and I will get the materials ready to start the ritual work for you. Most of my ritual work is done overnight and by tomorrow, it will be completed and your money will come out.
“You will send me your bank account, photograph, and full name, and you will be receiving money in your account. You will be receiving cash thrice every two weeks.”
When our correspondent inquired whether it is spirits that would be sending the money, he interjected in a mildly exasperated tone, “Listen, I will prepare the money here in my shrine and the money will be entering your account.”
He sent his ritual material price list and asked our correspondent to select the amount of money he wishes to receive in his bank account.
The list says, “N15,500 for N200,000; N20,000 for N300,000; N30,500 for N500,000; N50,000 for N1million; N75,000 for N5million; N90,000 for N20million; and N120,000 for N50 million.”
When our correspondent selected “N20,000 for N300,000,” he reiterated that his brand of ‘money magic’ utilises native materials instead of human blood.
“I make money without human blood and I only make use of native materials. I only make use of materials called ‘Cash of Hope’ and the ‘Money Drawer Oil.’
“Mind you, my work does not require any side effects or human being blood for sacrifice or repercussions, okay? Never say never to the high spirit.
“You don’t need to travel down for the ritual; I will just send them to you and you will get your money, but you must come down to my shrine with a token of appreciation for my work, any amount your heart chooses,” Babatunde added.
When the reporter complained about being unable to afford the cost of the ritual material, the magician urged him to find the money by any means possible and contact him when ready.
Babatunde was also observed to regularly post videos on his Facebook and WhatsApp statuses featuring ‘clients’ who claim to have acquired money through his rituals but the veracity of their claims could not be confirmed.
The second acclaimed money magician, who resides in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, goes by the Facebook name, Iya Ifa Bomi.
In this case, our correspondent posed as a greenhorn ‘Yahoo boy’ and asked her for spiritual assistance in order to obtain money from his ‘clients.’
She said, “You mean you are talking to your clients and they are not giving you money? I can perform a ritual for you and it will involve the use of big Titus fish, pepper, and some fresh leaves, but it will cost you N25,000.
“When you have the money, you can come to Ogbomoso and pick up the materials. I will prepare them for you. I have done this for many Yahoo boys like you and they all come back to testify that their clients are cooperating although some of them are ingrates. We also have some of us who do this work who are scammers and have made people not trust our works.”
Another cleric contacted by our correspondent, Alfa Abdulmumeen Aremu, advertised himself as a practitioner of “money rituals for engineers, contractors, business owners and ‘Yahooboys.’”
He first demanded a sum of N2,000 and told our correspondent to send his full name and his mother’s name for spiritual consultation before he could recommend osole to him.
In a voice note, he explained, “There are different types of osole and I perform them for people like you, so don’t worry, I am adept in this work. Send me those things first and I will do some consultations to know your destiny in five minutes and I will revert to you.”
Our correspondent sent him a pseudonym along with the name of his late grandmother.
After some minutes, Aremu sent a voice note saying, “I can see you have a very bright destiny but you have some enemies. They are divided into two: some from your family and others from your workplace.
“You will cook ritual meals like rice and semo with tasty stew and give them to the children in your community. They will eat it with relish, and some of them will go to sleep. After you do that, you will be spiritually clean and we can proceed to the next stage.”
Divergent beliefs
A student of Business Administration, Kazeem Akinpelu, says money rituals are real.
“If they have not been working, people will no longer be practicing them. I grew up in Ibadan, Oyo State, and I know of a market where they sell human parts at night.
“The people selling in this particular market practice voodoo and they are patronised by those who perform money rituals. There was also one time the body parts of a lynched motorcyclist here in Ibadan were used by ritualists,” he added.
However, a civil servant, Nnamdi Okeke, dismissed money rituals as a fantasy that existed only in the realm of make-believe.
“Well, I have not come across any money rituals and I haven’t thought of doing such either. I don’t believe there is anything like ‘blood money.’
“Someone can watch a film and tell you the story, but no cult will tell you what to bring if you have not passed through their ranks, and that is if such things exist, because I don’t believe in them. The question is, the person who wants to make you rich, why is he poor and even why are their children not rich?” he asked.
Similarly, a medical scientist, Mike Okechukwu, said the whole concept of ritual killing boiled down to superstition.
“People would believe what they want to believe to obtain money. Desperate people will employ desperate measures. For me though, I don’t think ritual killings are effective; I have not seen any proof to make me believe so. It all boils down to superstition,” he stated.
But a sales representative, who gave her name as Judith for security reasons, said she once dated a man whom she believed was involved in such rituals.
She said, “I was dating this Yahoo-Yahoo guy and one day, I visited him unannounced and found that he didn’t want me to go inside his room. He was just acting weird that day.
“But while I stood at the door, he didn’t know I saw a native pot placed on the floor. From that day on, I began to suspect him and that was what made me leave him eventually because I don’t want anybody to use me for money rituals.”
Money ritual mirage
Commenting on popular beliefs about money rituals, a Professor of Philosophy of Religion at the Lagos State University, Danoye Oguntola-Laguda, said herbalists appeal to Internet scammers for pecuniary gain.
He said, “My experience is that there is nothing called money rituals. What many people mistake for money rituals is the prayer for getting rich. That could definitely involve some sacrifices of animals or birds or cooking for the whole community (saara) which brings the blessing of feeding multitudes and people may not be able to determine how you become rich.
“I don’t want to say that those who believe in osole or perform oso are wrong because there are a lot of myths that point in that direction, but if you ask many of them to tell you or show you the real thing, you will see that they have nothing to show.
“I want to say that most of these traditionalists do not even know that those who consult them are ‘Yahoo boys.’ They just see them as people seeking a way to be rich and they do a ritual, pray for them and tell them to go and kill one goat. The babalawos are also human beings who have families to feed so when they see a victim with such a proposal, they grab it with both hands.”
Oguntola-Laguda also explained the difference between religious practice and occultism.
“Religion is experiential; it is about your experience. If I tell you that prayer doesn’t work, it’s because I tried it and it didn’t work and if I tell you that it works, it’s because I tried it and it worked for me.
“There is a need to separate occultism from religious practices. Occultism is the appropriation of spiritual agents, who in most cases are negative, and it’s not limited to African traditional religion; it is something that cuts across the board.
“Many religious people appropriate these negative spiritual agents for these money rituals and power to be able to do things that are extraordinary, like the power to be able to tell the sun to go down or to tell the rain to stop.
“So, it is occult people that will tell you that they will make you rich and invite a spiritual agent to do that for you but they always come with a price and that is what many people have come to call oso or osole.
“In the past, in Yoruba traditional society, the wizard who is called oso doesn’t mean he is rich but has power appropriated through spiritual agents that he deploys for good or evil of society,” he added.
Nollywood magical realism
The scenarios of materially wealthy people enmeshed in sinister rituals and pacts with spirits, is a recurring theme in Nollywood plots.
Findings by Saturday PUNCH revealed that whether in the predominantly Muslim North or the largely Christian South, many religious Nigerians believe in the reality of an unseen world, and the fictive representations from Nollywood plots have heavily shaped their perceptions of reality.
A Nollywood screenwriter, Mr Abiola Omolokun, argued that the depictions of money rituals in films are a true representation of Yoruba culture.
He said, “First, I don’t write such stories, but they are true representations of reality. Money rituals are real and are reflected in our cultural beliefs; they are not fiction.
“We tell a story just to teach morals and make people see things differently. Our stories make them know that for every action, there are consequences.
“Through our movies, we teach that patience is a virtue that youths need to walk on the right path, and in due time, with hard work and perseverance, everything will lead to success.”
However, a researcher in African Studies, Akin Faleye, contended that such stories lack historical precedent and are fraudulent.
“As a student of global history, I will say that there is no evidence that the Yoruba practised money rituals in the pre-colonial time. All these stories of money rituals are fraudulent and emanated from psychopaths rather than people with some actual spiritual knowledge of how to make money,” he stated.
Money rituals in other cultures
In some other cultures, what could be termed as money rituals are often symbolic acts or dramas that appeal to psychological and cosmic powers through an application of symbolic structures.
In Ireland, there is a tradition of taking a piece of straw from the nativity scene/crib in the church at Christmas and keeping it in your purse or wallet, which is believed to bring financial prosperity throughout the year.
An Indian author, Suresh Padmanabhan, in his work, I Love Money, devoted a chapter to ‘Money rituals’ and wrote, “Take a currency note in your hand and wish it ‘Good morning.’ “Express gratitude to your wallet, accounts book, cash box, bank passbook, or any other tools connected directly to money. Smile at yourself in the mirror and pat yourself when you perform a task well.”
Some practitioners in western traditions also perform what they define as money spells/rites, which involve the invocation of spirits and archangels, drawing ritual circles, erecting a temple and an altar, and presenting offerings to ancient deities.
However, these rituals are often believed and practiced by religious groups on the fringes and are based on cultural paradigms that only allow clearly defined routes of financial access through hard work, lucrative business, and clever exploitation of market gaps.
Lamenting the lack of profitable skills available to Nigerian youths, a United Kingdom-based personal development coach, Mr Toyyib Adelodun, highlighted the need for popular magical ideas about money to be refuted.
“Nigerian youths need to understand that money is a unit of account to measure, therefore the more value you produce for the community, the richer you are supposed to be. So, the first thing a young person should seek is education and skills to earn money.
“Money is always circulating in an economy. It is the Central Bank of Nigeria that prints money, it doesn’t come from anywhere else. We saw a practical example of this recently when the CBN embarked on the naira redesign and there wasn’t enough money in circulation. So, there is no magic that is going to bring money from anywhere unless you offer your skills as a person of value.
“I have been to several countries in the world and I can see that money only comes from value creation. Unfortunately, Nigerian youths are not equipped with the relevant skills; we just go to religious houses to pray and sit back at home and don’t market skills or deliver an excellent service in order to generate wealth. We don’t have to resort to crimes,” he said.
Clerics urge re-orientation
A Senior Pastor at Christ Life Church, Ibadan, Prof. Wale Coker, told Saturday PUNCH the youth need a re-orientation that would see them embrace a new value system other than the present mad rush to become wealthy overnight.
“The scriptures state that ‘wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished, but he that gathers by labour shall increase’. Youths should be encouraged to walk in the fear of God which is the beginning of wisdom,” he added.
The National Missioner of the Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Shiekh, Abdur-Rahman Ahmad, stated, “All those who claim to be Muslims and Alfas that are involved in money rituals know within their hearts that they are doing something wrong and deceiving people.
“The reality is that there is no money ritual. It is not only against the letter and spirit of the laws of Islam but also against human conscience. Islam recognises only three sources of legitimate wealth: direct labour or hard work, inheritance, and a legitimate gift and this doesn’t mean a Greek gift or bribe or something induced.”
On her part, a traditionalist, Omitonade Ifawemimo, said, “There is no shortcut in Isese (traditional spirituality). If you don’t work, you won’t be wealthy. Nollywood and the fantasy it creates bears responsibility for the concept of money rituals.
“Human sacrifice for money rituals does not exist in Isese. It is fake, madness, and a scam! It’s tragic that Yoruba movies have messed up people’s thinking into believing all these lies.”
Nigeria is Africa’s most populated country. With a population estimated at over 200 million people it is not surprising that Nigeria ranks high in the list of countries where people are murdered for ritualistic reasons or in a ritual way, including the performance of rituals believed to bring or enhance political power, economic or financial wealth, good health to the perpetrator(s) and/or conspirator(s). It is my estimation that Nigeria is Number One on the African continent when it comes to ritualistic murders, locally referred to as ‘money rituals’.
Not all ritual murders are discovered whereas not all murders which seem to be ritual murders are true ritual murders. Perpetrators may hide traces or create circumstances intended to mislead investigators. Hence we have to be always careful when reading about reported cases of ritual murders.
That being said, a case is being reported of a Nigerian residing in Ghana who killed his girlfriend for ‘money ritual’. Read the following report.
Warning: Some people may find the following story and/or the video disturbing because of the explicit contents (webmaster FVDK).
Nigerian kills Nigerian girlfriend in Ghana for money ritual
..Any Nigerian that commits a crime in any country, the law of the land should take its course, says NiDCOM
Published: November 30, 2022 By: Per Second News
In his desperate get-rich-quick bid, a Nigerian, whose identity is still unknown, has killed his girlfriend, a Nigerian, in Accra, Ghana.
According to reports, the “lover boy” beheaded the girl at Spintex, Accra, the Ghanian capital, to use her body parts for money ritual.
Just before dismembering her body, Police on a tip-off, swooped on the house and arrested the man, a report reaching Persecondnews said.
A video of his arrest which also showed the moment the corpse of the girl was recovered by the police, was shared on Facebook by a user identified as Smile Baba.
He had commented: “Very sad development this afternoon. I have just arrived from a crime scene here in Accra, Ghana, where a Nigerian young man beheaded his Nigerian girlfriend in Spintex, Accra, Ghana.
“My question is, who actually lies to these young boys and girls that money rituals truly exist?
“Ladies, you have to be careful of who you trust; it doesn’t matter how calm the man looks. Just be careful.”
Contacted for his comment, the spokesman for the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Mr Abdur-Rahmam Balogun, said: “Our stand is that any Nigerian that commits a crime, let the law of the land take its course.
“The Nigerian government has no role to play in such instance. If you go to another man’s land and commit a crime, the law of the land will always take its course.
“So, we always advise Nigerians to be good ambassadors wherever they find themselves. I have not watched the video and we have not been petitioned.”
Warning: the following article’s graphic content may upset some readers.
Yesterday I reported on four recent ritual murder cases in Ghana, one of them being the killing for ritualistic purposes of a young lady, Georgina Asor Botchwey, a student nurse, at Mankessim, in the Central Region.
The murder took place on September 9 of this year. Two suspects have been arrested. The suspects are a self-styled pastor Michael Darko, 48; and the Tufuhene of Ekumfi Akwakrom Christopher Ekow Quansah, 65, who reportedly kidnapped, killed, and secretly buried the victim.
Screenshot – click here to watch the YouTube video
The Ghanaian police is to be commended for its swift action. We will follow closely subsequent events. (webmaster FVDK)
Suspects Confess To Ritual Killing In Mankessim Murder
Published: September 23, 2022 By: Gloria Kafu Ahiable – The Ghana Report
Two suspects involved in the murder of a student nurse at Mankessim in the Central Region have admitted to killing the victim for ritual purposes.
The suspects, a self-styled pastor Michael Darko, 48; and the Tufuhene of Ekumfi Akwakrom Christopher Ekow Quansah, 65, reportedly kidnapped, killed, and secretly buried the victim.
The police said the two confessed to “murdering the victim for money rituals.”
“During police interrogation, suspect Michael Darko, who is the alleged boyfriend of the senior sister of the deceased victim and was last seen with her, led police to the location where they had buried her after the murder.”
The body has since been exhumed and deposited at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital morgue for preservation and autopsy.
Meanwhile, the two accused persons were hauled before the District Court II in Cape Coast to respond to their crime on 22 September 2022.
They were remanded in police custody by the Cape Coast Court to reappear on 4 October 2022.
Both have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and murder, contrary to section 46 of the Criminal Offenses Act 1960, Act 29.
What happened to the student nurse
The student nurse, Georgina Asor Botchwey, was allegedly kidnapped, killed and secretly buried by the chief and the pastor in the chief’s house at Mankessim.
The victim, 25, is said to have gone for an interview at the Ankaful Nursing Training College when the pastor, who happens to be her sister’s boyfriend, invited her for a meeting.
After the interview, the victim set off to meet her soon‐to‐be brother‐in‐law. Little did she know a trap had been set before she arrived in Cape Coast on 8 September 2022.
The self-styled pastor had conspired with the chief, who is the Tufuhene of Ekumfi Akwakrom, to kidnap and sexually assault her.
On 9 September 2022, the accused persons picked the victim up in a Taxi at the Ankaful Hospital Pedu junction in Cape Coast.
They then took her to an uncompleted building belonging to the chief, where they had dug a hole in preparation for the ritual.
The chief is said to have hit the deceased with a club, and when she fell, her sister’s boyfriend dragged her by the feet while the chief held her neck till she died.
Meanwhile, news that the deceased had been missing for three weeks began to spread in the Mankessim after she failed to return home after the interview.
A notice in circulation read:
“Georgina Botchwey went for an interview at Cape Coast on Wednesday, and up till now, she cannot be found; her phone is off. Please, anybody with information about her should call 0208503126 or 0247048711.”
Following this notice, a friend of the deceased raised an alarm about Georgina meeting with her sister’s boyfriend.
Shortly after the tip-off, the pastor was arrested in Cape Coast and admitted to the crime.
He subsequently led the police to the residence where Georgina had been buried, and her body was exhumed.
The family of the murdered student nurse later disclosed that the suspects initially demanded a ransom from them.
According to Georgina Asor Botchwey’s relatives, the pastor and his accomplice had demanded that they pay GH¢15,000 for her release.
Unfortunately, the family could not raise the said amount.
Recently, Edo State police did a horrific find when it discovered in Benin City a ritualist’s den with 20 mummified bodies: 15 dried male corpses, three female corpses and two children corpses. Benin City is the capital of Edo State. Click here for more information on the Edo or Benin people.
It is not known who the victims are and how long the corpses have been in the ritualist’s den.
In general, it’s a gruesome reality that many unidentified bodies of victims of ritual murders (‘money rituals’) in Nigeria may be linked to unexplained disappearances. Even worse, some people are not being reported as missing.
Hence the exact number of victims of ritualistic murders in Nigeria is unknown, but much higher than the number of reported cases. (webmaster FVDK)
Location of Edo state and Benin City in Nigeria
Edo Police Command uncovers ritualist’s den, 20 corpses in Benin
Published: August 19, 2022 By: The Guardian, Nigeria
Edo State Police Command has uncovered a ritualist’s den with 20 mummified bodies, along Ekehuan Road area of Benin City.
The State Commissioner of Police (CP), Abutu Yaro, said the Command unravelled the suspected ritual shrine on Wednesday, August 17 and arrested three suspected ritualists.
Yaro said the raid is in line with the Command’s operational mandate of curbing crime in the state.
He said: “Following credible information at the Command’s disposal that some corpses were discovered in a building along Asoro slope off Ekehuan Road, Uzebu Quarters, in Benin City, operatives of the Command immediately swung into action and mobilised to the scene.”
According to him, three suspects were arrested at the scene, namely: Chimaobi Okoewu ‘m’ and Oko Samuel ‘m’ both of Afikpo in Ebonyi and Gideon Sunday ‘m’ of Akwa-Ibom State, while other suspects fled.
Yaro said the police have launched an intensive manhunt to apprehend the fleeing suspects.
Among the corpses discovered at the scene of the crime, are 15 dried male corpses, three female corpses and two children corpses.
He noted that the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Command Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (CIID) has been directed to carry out a discreet investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the discovered corpses.
The commissioner urged members of the general public to be calm as the Command will continue to ensure the safety of all law-abiding citizens and those residing in Edo State.
It is relatively rare that ritual murder cases are being reported from Cameroon though this does not mean that these atrocious practices do not occur in this Central African country. I’ve explained on previous occasions that my continuous search for ‘muti’ murders, ‘money rituals’, ritual killings and other superstitious practices suffers from a bias. As a result, more cases from anglophone countries than from francophone and lusophone countries are being brought to my attention.
Though both French and English are official languages in Cameroon, eight out of its ten regions are primarily francophone. Hence, francophone media dominate the news which may explain the underreporting of Cameroonian ritual murder cases on this site. (webmaster FVDK)
Cameroonian woman kills sister-in-law, chops body for ritual (Videos, Photos)
Marie France Mbea, a 57-year-old Cameroonian woman, has been arrested for allegedly killing her sister-in-law for suspected money ritual.
Naija News gathered that the culprit killed the woman and chopped her body in a hotel in Yaoundé’s Biyem Assi area.
Marie was intercepted on Monday, August 22, 2022, while leaving the hotel with the body parts stuffed in a suitcase.
According to Local Media, the suspect claimed she had a phone conversation with an unidentified man who directed her to murder her sister-in-law in exchange for money.
She checked into the hotel with the victim where she used a beer bottle to hit her on the head and slit her throat.
Marie fled the hotel on Sunday night after killing her sister-in-law, only to return on Monday carrying a machete and a travelling bag.
When the hotel administration saw that she was carrying something too heavy for her and refused offers of assistance, they became suspicious and called the police.
The suspect, during interrogation at Yaounde police headquarters, admitted that the body parts were intended to be transferred to a man in exchange for money.
Everyday I see new reports of ritual killings in Nigeria – locally called ‘money rituals’ – and although I haven’t stopped presenting these articles here, on this site, I have been forced to limit reporting on these barbaric and cruel crimes due to their overwhelming number. Unfortunately, there are many more African countries where ambitious, unscrupulous and criminal people commit the same repulsive crimes and governments fail to act effectively, as is the case in Nigeria.
Nevertheless the foregoing, I wish to draw the readers’ attention to the article below, a Nigerian plea to address the escalating wave of ritual killings terrorizing Africa’s most populated country, divided in 36 states.
Let the article speak for itself. The reader may find useful background reading in my February 13 2022 posting whereas I also wish to remind the reader that on February 9 of this year, the House of Representatives asked the Federal Government to declare state of emergency on ritual killings, signaling the urgency and spread of the problem. (webmaster FVDK)
Addressing the escalating ritual killings challenge
Published: July 25, 2022 By: Business hallmark – Hallmark News
From all available indications, the killing of humans in Nigeria for ritual purposes is escalating. And it has to be severely addressed.
In some of the more confounding instances, the alleged perpetrators are most shockingly, young people.
An obvious trigger for the disreputable behaviour from many accounts is the parlous economic state of the nation. With inflation, unemployment and the exchange rate posting very dismal statistics, millions of Nigerians are at their wits end as to how to make ends meet. And some are being lulled into the false trap of ritual killings.
Compounding the extant challenges that the average Nigerian is faced with today are the atrocious governance failings countrywide, the unbridled rate of urbanisation and the collapse of both the traditional community structure and family values.
Some others would add factors like the parlous state of public education and very importantly, the untoward practices of several disreputable traditional and religious leaders who hardly inspire a better orientation for the embattled and impressionable in the society at a moment like this.
Indeed, given the reported close synergy between ritual killing practices and traditional and spiritual related observances and leaders, this is one critical area where the searchlight must be beamed as we seek a resolution of the menace. Traditional and spiritual leaders must be put on the spot.
This is more so when the entire ritual industry complex is predicated on traditional and religious factors. Within this framework, the thinking is that when the traditional ‘medicine man’ administers an appropriate mix of fitting incantations and sacrifices, the end result is that a mystical power transfer of sorts can then be effected in which the human sacrifice is then accepted by the superintending spiritual forces who then sign off on the efficacy and acceptability of the sacrifice and thereafter dispense the requested security, material or other similarly incredulous favours to the beneficiaries.
Alarmed by the rising incidence of the nefarious practice, the Federal House of Representatives had in February this year tasked the executive ‘to declare a state of emergency on the rising incidence.’ This was via a motion that was sponsored by its Deputy Minority Leader Toby Okechukwu.
In the same breath, the lawmakers requested Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, to “take urgent steps to increase surveillance and intelligence gathering with a view to apprehending and prosecuting all perpetrators of ritual killings in Nigeria.”
And establishing a cultural nexus to the challenge, the lawmakers equally urged that the National Orientation Agency (NOA) “initiate a campaign towards changing the situation in the country.”
Five months after these resolutions were seemingly passed and carried, there is no let in the rate of incidence as regards the killing for rituals challenge.
Underscoring the depth of the challenge is the fact that pontificating political actors are not innocent of the practice. Indeed, some are minded to believe that they are indeed the prime enablers of the gory ring of shame.
Now and again, the airwaves are littered with news reports and revelations linking political players with acts of ritual. Whether in the Okija shrine incidents earlier in the current democratic disposition where a then serving governor openly confessed to having been taken to a shrine to swear an oath of allegiance to a godfather; or in the Otokoto saga that wracked the Imo State capital, Owerri; or even the Baddoo incidents in Ikorodu, Lagos State, political players have been implicated now and again.
Beyond the immediate precincts of politics is the fact that many of our supposed elite role models also get to be fingered from time to time as being somewhat involved in the ring. At the moment for example, a very notable and high profile tertiary education complex proprietor is being tried on account of the mysterious death of a lodger in his hotel premises.
With clearly both the high and mighty being implicated in the challenge and with many members of the public increasingly being led to believe that you really cannot make good progress in today’s Nigeria without getting involved with shady and nefarious underground groups that are associated with ritual killings and related vices, it is really a herculean task addressing the cankerworm.
An expanded part of the challenge is even more deeply historical. We refer to a time in the distant past when different communities were engaged in acts of war and where, it is believed that the prevalent spiritual environment back then tended to accommodate human ritual killings under certain communally defined conditions. While in the modern social environment this has since been formally outlawed, very clearly some rogue practitioners continue to find ways around its outlawing.
This situation has also not been helped by the continued prevalence of traditional and modernist cult groups that many a time have been widely believed to be associated with ritual killings. While one or more of such groups now and again comes out to the public domain to swear their non-involvement with ritual killings, the deeper fact remains that the tar on the entire sub-set remains. And then you have the yahoo yahoo plus segment of the irascible internet fraud ring.
In the view of the newspaper, what is needed is a firm will to act, to enforce the laws and vigorously drive a campaign to wean our people off the accursed path of ritual killing. And while we are at it, can our leaders all commit to simply going back to the basics and doing very simple things to raise the governance bar? Half of the crisis would be addressed in that way.
Teens arrested in Abeokuta, Ogun State over murder of a teenager girl – Click here for more postings on ritual murders in Ogun State
