Category Archives: ‘money ritual’

Nigeria: 55-year-old man arrested with human head in Ondo State

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Warning: the following post may upset the reader. 

The article below illustrates well how ‘money rituals’ are being organized and performed in Nigeria. A 55-year-old man who wanted to become rich, ordered ‘a fresh human head’ which was ‘delivered’ to him at his home as if he had ordered something at Amazon.com

Of course, one wonders if this man is not insane. But jumping to that conclusion is, first of all, not my job – I prefer to leave that judgement to a judge. However, the whole situation demonstrates the evil which results from the belief in superstition in combination with greed and moral decay. Hail to the Ondo police to have apprehended this man who will have to account for his deeds (read: misdeeds)! 
(webmaster FVDK).

55-year-old man arrested with human head in Ondo State

Published: December 23, 2021
By: Hakeem Gbadamosi – Nigerian Tribune

Men of the Ondo State Police Command have arrested a 55-year old man, Tunde Olayiwola, who was allegedly caught with a fresh human head meant for money ritual in Ondo, headquarters of Ondo West Local Government Area of the state.

Speaking during the parade, on Thursday, the State Commissioner of Police, Oyeyemi Oyediran, said the suspect was arrested by men of the state police command after an intelligence report that the suspect was about to receive a consignment.

He said the suspect was apprehended with the fresh head delivered to him and confessed that the head was meant to be used by him to ensure a better life.

He said: “On the 23rd of December, 2021, at about 9 am, the police received information that a self-acclaimed cleric named Alfa Tunde Olayiwola, a suspected ritualistic was about to receive a consignment suspected to be human head.

“The police immediately swung into action and the cleric was apprehended at Ajagbale area of Oka in Ondo town.

“A free head was found in his custody. He confessed that the head found in his possession was to be used to ensure he had a better life.”

Confessing to the crime, Olayiwola who said he hailed from Oshogbo said he ordered for the fresh head for money ritual at the sum of N60,000.

He said the consignment was delivered to him at home by a man he met at a social function on Thursday morning, saying he was about to commence the ritual when he was arrested.  

He said, “I purposely ordered for the human head to make my life better and it was delivered to me. This is my first time but I want to do it to become rich and live a better life. The head was delivered to me today.”

(….) 

Source: 55-year-old man arrested with human head in Ondo 

Nigeria, Lagos State: Police arrest man with fresh human parts in Ikorodu

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Today is not the frist time I post a report on a ‘money ritual’ in Lagos State. Since the start of this site on ritual murders, superstition and the rule of law in Africa I have posted every year one or more articles on money rituals and related ritualistic activities in Lagos State, Nigeria’s most populated region. I may refer the interests reader(s) to my posts of August 31, 2018, Nigeria: Lagos ‘madwoman’ caught with human parts, corpses: “I pose as prostitute to get victims”; November 4, 2019, Nigeria: ritual killing stirs fresh fears in Ikorodu (Lagos State); January 9, 2020 on the ritual murder of a Lagos State University student, Favour Daley-Oladele, in December 2019; and September 21, 2021, Lagos State – Nigeria: Police arrest man for allegedly killing poly student for ritual.

The following report is not on a ritualistic murder though it does have ritualistic activities as its core theme. In Ikorodu a man was caught who had fresh human parts in his possession. Ikorodu s a large city in Lagos State with a population of approximately one million; it is the largest local government in Lagos State. Reportedly, the arrested individual, a 41-year old man, named Sikiru Kolawole, was apprehended near the Ojokoro cemetery in Ikorodu.

From police reports it is learned that the suspect might have been involved personally in the acquisition of (read: digging up) the human parts. It is not clear whether the suspect was motivated by financial gains, selling the human parts to interested parties or acting on behalf of someone else, or by a personal motive. Whatever the case, it is obvious that superstition as involved: the belief in the power of human parts. Therefor, this warrants the inclusion of the following article on this site (webmaster FVDK).

Police arrest man with fresh human parts in Ikorodu

Published: December 10, 2021
By: Vanguard News, Nigeria

The Sagamu Road Police Division said it has arrested a 41-year-old man, Sikiru Kolawole, for allegedly being in possession of fresh human parts.

The Spokesman of the Lagos Police Command, Mr Adekunle Ajisebutu, who confirmed the incident, said that the suspect was reportedly found with fresh human hands, intestines and skull from Ojokoro cemetery in Ikorodu.

“The Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu, has ordered the case to be transferred to the State Criminal Investigative Department (SCID) at Panti, Yaba, for diligent investigation and prosecution.

Earlier, the Ikorodu Local Government Chairman, Hon. Wasiu Adesina, who led members of his cabinet to the scene of the crime, said the council promised to do everything necessary to curtail the dastard act and its reoccurrence.

The council boss immediately directed the environment department to clear every part of the cemetery to avoid any black spot inside and outside, adding that the apprehended suspect would be dealt with according to the law to serve as a deterrent to others.

“While we take care of the living, the council has mandated itself to cater for our dead ones and that is why we have rehabilitated the Ikorodu cemetery to international standard.

“I will ensure proper security measures are put in place and deal ruthlessly with anybody engaging in such illegitimate act at the cemetery.

“We have done lots of rehabilitation, illuminating the cemetery with solar power, provided water system and perimeter fencing,” he said.

Mr Nurudeen Lawal, one of the local guards at the cemetery, said that they engaged with the suspect in combat before he was apprehended around 1:30 am with a sack full of human parts while trying to escape.

“We carry out surveillance round the cemetery at least three to four times in a shift to observe the surroundings.

“Suddenly, we started hearing some funny sound, on getting there we saw the suspect with a sack loaded so we challenged him on how he got in and his mission at the cemetery.

“During the interrogation, we challenged him to open his sack, he resisted and it resulted in a combat and trying to use the weapon with him to scare us away to enable him flee.

“Subsequently, we grabbed and took him to the police station with the human parts for further interrogation,” Lawal said.

Source: Police arrest man with fresh human parts in Ikorodu

Nigeria Humanist Movement leader Leo Igwe comments on the arrest of suspected ritualists in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

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Leo Igwe is a well-known human rights advocate, specialized in campaigning against witchcraft and cruel ritualistic practices. I mentioned him before on this site (see my June 24, 2018 post on Superstition in Mozambique) and also elsewhere, when he spoke out against ritual murders in Africa: in his home country Nigeria in 2004, in Swaziland (nowadays called Eswatini) in 2008, and in African countries in general in 2010 and 2012. Recently, the infatigable human rights campaigner was again in the spotlight when condemning ‘money ritual’ practices in Nigeria, calling the criminal acts ‘useless’ and trying to persuade ritual killers to give up their ‘useless’ practices.

I wish to commend Leo Igwe for his tireless efforts to end these cruel, criminal and senseless practices. The world and Africa in general need more Leo Igwe’s to condemn and end ritualistic murders on the continent (webmaster FVDK).

Nothing like ‘money rituals’, ritual killers are killing in vain – Nigerian human rights advocate Leo Igwe

The leader of the Nigerian human rights group reacts to the recently reported arrest of suspected ritualists in the Boluwaji area of Ibadan, Oyo State.

Published: September 24, 2021
By: SaharaReporters, New York

The Nigerian Humanist Movement has urged Nigerians to stop believing they can get rich or become wealthy through the killing of fellow citizens for money rituals.

NHM, a group that advocates the principles of humanism, urged Nigerians to understand that the notion of ritual money and wealth is completely baseless and invalid.

The rights group was reacting to the recently reported arrest of suspected ritualists in the Boluwaji area of Ibadan, Oyo State.

Reports emerged during the week that members of the Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Operation Amotekun had arrested suspected ritualists, who were in possession of the body parts of a 73-year-old man.

The suspects, during interrogations, had told operatives of the security outfit that a Muslim cleric, whom they identified as Alfa Salam Salam, asked them to get some human body parts for rituals.

But in an interview with SaharaReporters on Thursday, NHM, through its National Director, Leo Igwe, said irrational conceptions of how to make money or become wealthy and successful often lead to killing of innocent people in vain.

“I don’t think there is any way the claim ritual money is validated, at least in a way that can be confirmed by a third party.

“For example, if you want to make money using human body parts. Do you want to make it in naira, or dollars or pounds or euros? Actually, if it is true that you really want to make money through rituals, why are Nigerians not making money in these foreign currencies that I mentioned that have more value than naira if we are to go by that. That’s number one.

“Number two. We know very well that the Central Bank or an affiliated bank agency is responsible for printing currencies and they come with specific numbers. In other words, if we have to account for the money these people say they are making through rituals, where are they getting the numbers that tally with what is in circulation?

“Let assume you go and bring it from the vault of First Bank, what happens to that branch where the money disappears from? What happens to the Branch Manager? Are they not going to account for it? If that’s the case, you know how many branch managers of banks would be crying out every day that money has disappeared?

“We have not heard from any of these commercial banks that they are looking for money. Now, even if it disappears, how are we not going to probe the way that it was stolen?”

Igwe further argued there is a possibility of people stealing public money and hanging it around a money ritual that does not exist.

“My point is that let’s put all these superstitions aside and accept that some people actually steal to make money and tie it around money rituals. People can actually make money by conniving with bank officials in a way we don’t know and start flaunting it that they did money rituals. It doesn’t make sense!

“So what am I trying to say? It doesn’t make sense at all. It is important for us to begin to openly challenge this claim. The reason is that our young people are dying. Honestly, I’m in pain. I’m not joking. When I see how young men are killing their fathers, mothers, and relatives in the name of rituals for money, I cry because it is an illusion.

“It is baseless and does not exist anywhere. Instead of providing them with evidence-based ways of making money, they will tell them to go and bring the heads of their family members,” he added.

Source: Nothing Like Money Rituals, Ritual Killers Are Killing In Vain – Nigerian Humanist Movement

Nigeria, Taraba State: fear gripping Jalingo residents following an increase of cases of missing persons which is linked to ritual killings

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As I have repeatedly stated on this site, Nigeria is most likely the African country where most ritualistic murders are taking place, not in the least because with 200 million people the West African nation is Africa’s most populated country.

Security, or rather insecurity, is one of Nigeria’s biggest problems. Not a day passes without prominent politicians, ordinary citizens, civil society organizations and newspaper editors and journalists complaining about the present situation. The three main manifestations of insecurity, terrorism and the resulting fear relate to Boko Haram, kidnappings by bandits who demand ransoms for their hostages, and – unfortunately, also ritual murders, locally known as ‘money rituals’: killing, rather slaughtering, of innocent people by unscrupulous people who believe his will result in more power, prestige, wealth or a better health. Superstition based on greed and ignorance.

Notably the southern states are notorious for their ritualistic murders, but these days also the people in Taraba State, in North Eastern Nigeria, and in particular in the – with 120,000 inhabitants relatively small – state capital Jalingo, who live in fear following a wave of ritualistic murders and missing persons. 

it is nearly impossible to include on this site all ritual murder cases which are brought to light in Nigeria. Over the last few months I have been confronted with tens of murder cases, in a large number of states, which I have not included on this site. I may present a summary in the near future.

For the time being I bring this particular case, in Taraba State, to your attention. It is noteworthy that there are over 40 different tribes and languages in Taraba State which all have a rich culture and history. After all, a friend who knows the country very well once described Nigeria to me as ‘a nice set of countries’.

If you wish to read more about Taraba State, which lies largely in the middle of Nigeria, please click this link.  (webmaster FVDK).

Source: Nigeria Galleria – Taraba state, Nigeria

Fear grips Jalingo residents as cases of missing persons rise

Published: October 22, 2021
By: Magaji Hunkuji – Daily Trust, Nigeria 

Fear has gripped residents of Jalingo following an increase of cases of missing persons which is linked to ritual killings.

Areas worse affected, according to sources, include roads leading to Jalingo main market, Karofi area to Baba Yau and ATC.

North East Trust’s finding revealed that incidents of missing persons started a few months ago and it worsened in September and October.

Dead bodies of some of those that got missing were found with part of their bodies removed while several others are yet to be found.

One of the victims, Sulei Musa Kantiyel, who resided at Jauro Boto in the Jalingo metropolis was said to have left his house at about 10 pm on  September 15 and two days later his corpse was found on a maize farm along Mile Six Road with many parts of his body removed.

Another person, Husseini Maigari of Anguwan Baraya also got missing on  September 17 and he is yet to be traced.

North East Trust also gathered that an elderly woman who disappeared between Jalingo main market to Kasuwan Yelwa is also yet to be found.

Similarly, the dead bodies of three persons including two women were said to have been found with parts of their bodies removed in two locations in Jalingo recently.

Further findings revealed that the children of one Ibrahim Maigini, who got missing from their house at Tudun Wada were lucky to be found alive at a military checkpoint on the outskirt of Jalingo.

Their father, lbrahim, told our reporter that he received a call from his wife that their children, aged 10 and 11, were missing.

He said it was at about 5 pm the photos of the two missing boys were posted at one of the checkpoints requesting for their parents to come and claim them.

It was learnt that the ritualists use tricycles and private cars to perpetrate their crime both during the day and night.

Some residents who spoke to our correspondent on the  issue said nobody is safe in the town because the ritualists are targeting both children and the elderly and operating in many parts of the town.

One of the residents, Mallam Sani Saidu said security agents and  the community should work closely to address the situation.

The state Chairman of Commercial Motorcycles Operators, Abdullahi Bello, told North East Trust that he was aware of the complaints that  some of his members were being used by some of the criminals behind the missing persons.

He said the association has put in place measures to address the issue.

He said part of the measures include suspension of operations by all members at 9 pm and violators would be arrested and prosecuted.

The police spokesman, DSP Abdullahi Usman, said from his finding, the command has not received any case of missing persons within the metropolis.

“Rumors have it that there are series of such cases” the PPRO said.

Source: Fear Grips Jalingo Residents As Cases Of Missing Persons Rise