The article posted yesterday was about an alleged ritual murder case in Kasoa (formerly knows as Odupongkpehe), in Ghana’s Central Region. Since then, more details have emerged about the crime committed. Warning: some readers may find the following articles and videos disturbing (webmaster FVDK).
Two Kasoa teenagers arrested for murdering a 10-year-old, severing ear for rituals
Picture shows screen shot from the video. To watch video, click here. Viewers discretion is advised.
Published: April 4, 2021 By: GhanaWeb
Two teenagers have been arrested by the Kasoa Divisional Police Command in connection with the murder of a 10-year-old boy in what seems to be a ritual murder.
Reports available to GhanaWeb indicates the police received a distress call on Saturday at about 10:15 am about a homecode incident at Coca-Cola near Lamptey Mills, a suburb of Kasoa in the Central Region.
According to preliminary police investigations, the victim identified as Ishmael was killed by 16-year-old Felix Nyarko and Nicholas Kini, 17.
The teenage suspects are reported to have invited the deceased into an uncompleted building where they hit him with a club and cement blocks, killing him at about 9:30am the same morning.
Police sources say the boys then buried the deceased in the uncompleted building with the hope of coming back for his body in the night for ritual purpose.
Some neighbors however caught wind of their actions and raised an alarm leading to the arrest of the two.
The deceased’s body has since been deposited at the Police Hospital awaiting post-mortem whilst the suspects have been taken into custody.
Some reports claim that the suspects were told by a fetish priest to bring human parts for money rituals hence their actions.
The mother of the victim, Hajia Maame has spoken to Citi News and expressed shock over their son’s demise.
Published: April 4, 2021 By: Yen, Ghana – Jeffrey Mensah
The father of one of the two boys arrested in the Kasoa ‘Sakawa’ murder case has spoken
In a video, the man narrated how he got to know of the incident and arrested one of the suspects
The man’s son and the boy he helped to arrest, both teens, have beenarrested over the murder of a 10-year-old
The father of one of the two boys arrested over the murder of a 10-year-old boy at Kasoa has spoken on the incident. In a video sighted by YEN.com.gh, the boy’s father has narrated how he got to know of the incident and helped to apprehend the other suspect. Two teenagers were arrested on Saturday, April 3, 2021, for the murder of a 10-year-old boy identified as Ishmael.
According to reports in the media, the suspects Felix Nyarko, 18, Nicholas Kini, 19, had killed the boy for money rituals.
They were apprehended by the Kasoa Divisional Police Command following a distress call about a homicide incident in Lamptey Mills.
Speaking to the press about the incident, the father said he was in the house when his son came to tell him that they had buried the boy nearby. He went to dig up up the body and chase after the other suspect because his son had told him he did not partake in the killing.
After apprehending the other boy, he informed other people around and they took the boy to the police station. He explained that his son had told him he only called the victim for the other guy and as a father he wanted to ensure that the truth of the matter came out.
Meanwhile, Hajia Maame, the mother of the 10-year-old boy has recounted how she got to know about her son’s murder.
The bereaved mother disclosed that the elder sister of murdered 10-year-old Ishmael came to break the heart-rending news to her. Speaking in an interview, Hajia Maame told Citi News amid tears that she was shocked by her son’s demise.
The mother of slain 11-year-old Ishmael Mensah, Hajia Maame Sahadatu, has given a narration about how she was informed about her son’s murder
She disclosed that she was taking a nap when her son’s elder sister came to break the news about her brother’s demise
The bereaved mother spoke to Citi News
Hajia Maame Sahadatu, the mother of an 11-year-old boy who was gruesomely killed by two teenagers for rituals in Kasoa in the Central Region, has recounted how she got to know about her son’s murder. The bereaved mother disclosed that the elder sister of slain 11-year-old Ishmael Mensah came to break the heart-rending news to her. Speaking in an interview, Sahadatu told Citi News amid tears that she was shocked by her son’s demise.
”They (Ismael and his sister) go to Islamic school on Saturdays, but he was home because his father had returned from a trip. He was playing a game outside on his laptop while I was taking a nap,” she said.
‘His sister came running to me to tell me his brother had been killed. The police were informed and they came to the scene. My son has wrong no one,” she added. The two suspects behind the killing of the 11-year-old boy at Lamptey Mills in Kasoa, Central Region have been arrested by the Kasoa Divisional Police Command. The teenage boys, 16 and 17 years old respectively, are assisting the police with investigations. Meanwhile, the Kasoa Divisional Police Command are yet to confirm details about the incident and arrests.
Kasoa, formerly known as Odupongkpehe, is a coastal town in the Awutu Senya East Municipal District of the Central Region in Ghana. Reportedly, Odupongkpehe/Kasoa is one of the fastest growing communities in West Africa. In 1970, Odupongkpehe/Kasoa was a rural community. Since then, its population has multiplied nearly hundred times.
The clash between tradition and modernization may – partly – explain what recently happened in this fast growing urban community. Two teenagers were apprehended and accused of murdering a ten-year old child for ritualistic purposes after being requested by a fetish priest in the Volta Region who told the two suspects to bring human parts for rituals. It is not known what has happened with the fetish priest.
The law must take its course. However, society must reflect upon this heinous crime committed by two adolescents who, very likely, did not grow up in the tradition of a rural or village community. How could this happen? What is the role and responsibility of the parents? Have the two suspects been to school, what have the teachers taught them?
Maybe too many questions for the moment, but urgent reflection and action is required to avoid a repetition of this gruesome ritualistic act (webmaster FVDK).
Kasoa: Two teenagers arrested over alleged ritual murder of 10-year-old
Published: April 4, 2021 By: Modern Ghana
Two persons, an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old are in the custody of the Kasoa Divisional Police Command for allegedly killing a 10-year-old boy for money rituals at Lamptey Mills, a suburb of Kasoa.
According to sources the suspects lured the deceased, only known as Ishmael by his peers, into an uncompleted building and hit him with an object, killing him instantly.
There are claims that a fetish priest in the Volta Region told the two suspects to bring human parts for rituals, hence the action of the pair.
The mother of the boy, Hajia Maame told Citi News that she is shocked by the news of her son’s demise.
The suspects are currently assisting in investigations.
Meanwhile, the Kasoa Divisional Police Command has so far not commented officially on the incident or the arrests.
I cannot present the following article without adding some warnings and observations.
When hearing the prophetess narrate how she lived with dwarfs, I -personally – take some distance from her confessions. However, not believing – rather, not being able to believe – what she’s saying, I do not want to discredit her, or accuse her of being led by her phantasies. The world ruled by imagination and superstition is a world different from mine. Hence, I do not qualify her allegations as true or untrue. I merely present her narrative to you, readers of this site, and it is up to you to draw your own conclusions.
The same holds for her confessions that she killed (many) people for money rituals. In legal terms, a confession alone is no proof of a crime.
For the purpose of this site, however, the interview held by blogger Zion Felix is useful and warranted since it shows the existence if a firm belief in superstition, witchcraft and the power of money rituals. (webmaster FVDK)
Ghanaian prophetess narrates how she lived with dwarfs for 7 years & killed many people
Prophetess Blessing – Kumasi, Ghana
Published: March 18, 2021 By: Pulse, Ghana – Andreas Kamasah
A Ghanaian prophetess based in Kumasi, the capital city of the Ashanti region has narrated how she used to live with dwarfs and killed many people for money rituals.
Prophetess Blessing Amoaniwaa told blogger Zion Felix in an interview that her union with the dwarfs and the killings were beyond her control.
Screenshot from one-hour interview with the prophetess, in local Ghanaian language (Ashanti) to watch video, click here
She explained that her grandparents who were barren and yearning for children entered into a pact with some evil spirits with a condition that from time to time, a member of their family would be sacrificed to the gods in compensation for the child they ‘blessed’ them with.
According to her, whoever is offered to the gods must become a prophet or prophetess of the gods.
She said she was kidnapped by the dwarfs while she was just a little child and initiated into the evil practice and when she returned, she could not recognise her mother.
“My family had their wish eventually. They had kids and successful people in our family but they forgot that they had a pact with the devil.
“A pact which stated that a member of our family at every point in time would be sacrificed to the shrine as a fetish priest or priestess as a form of thanksgiving to the gods for giving my grandparents the babies they had been yearning for,” she revealed.
After her return from the world of dwarfs, she said she became so powerful and engaged in evil spiritual practice for years, including money rituals.
Prophetess Blessing who said she has been able to break ties with the gods and now has her own church in Kumasi recounted that it was not an easy task parting ways with the evil spirits.
She disclosed that all her family members who declined to comply with the generational pact suffered terrible consequences.
“Members of my family who were to serve as priests or priestesses and refused were either hit with perennial sicknesses or went mad. My auntie and uncle all suffered from those calamities.”
Prophetess Blessing said she is now a devout Christian with the ability to discern between the voice of the devil and that of the almighty God.
Strictly speaking, this isn’t a case of ritual murder. But, as the story tells, the murder is closely linked to ‘money ritual’, an expression used to designate a ritualistic murder.
Please, read the article yourself (webmaster FVDK).
2 Ghanaian spiritualists allegedly kill expatriate friend who visited them for money ritual
Published: March 17, 2021 By: Pulse, Ghana – Andreas Kamasah
Police have arrested a 55-year-old Mallam Mohammed Hardi while a search continues for his accomplice Alfa Sakibu, both of whom are spiritualists for allegedly killing their friend who had visited them for a money ritual.
According to a report by Adomonline.com, the body of the deceased from Sierra Leone was dumped on the Tamale – Nyankpala road.
A police report said on March 15, 2021, at about 2110hrs, they had information that the suspect, Mallam Mohammed Hardi had allegedly killed someone in his room at Gurugu, a suburb of Tamale.
Police patrol team quickly proceeded to the crime scene, searched his room but did not see the body.
The police, however, found ritual items in his rooms.
Later the same day at about 2210hrs, the police had another information that a body had been dumped on the Tamale – Nyankpala road.
Officers moved to the scene and found a body of a man wearing only green boxer shorts lying on his left hand side dead.
The suspect later gave the deceased’s name as Asedia from Sierra Leone.
Inspection on the body revealed a small cut on the forehead. The body was taken to the Tamale Teaching Hospital where he was examined by Dr. Dorrell who confirmed him dead.
Investigations carried out by police found out that, the deceased on March 12, 2021, visited his friends, Mohammed Hardi and Alfa Sakibu, both spiritualists in Tamale to assist him to do money rituals.
Meanwhile, the suspect told the police that on March 15, 2021, at 0930hrs, the deceased complained of body pains and died subsequently in his room.
He explained that to avoid being arrested, he and his accomplice who is on the run decided to dump the body at the roadside.
He has pleaded not guilty and remains in police custody to reappear in court on Wednesday, March 17, 2021.
The body of the deceased has been deposited at the Tamale Teaching Hospital morgue pending autopsy.
This posting is the first in a row of three which focus on Nigeria’s security problems. The objective is to outline a general phenomenon – ritual killings – not to focus on a specific murder case. Eventually, we will include specific examples of ritualistic acts, notably murders, known in Nigeria as ‘money-rituals’ (FVDK).
Nigeria: Curbing The Menace Of Ritual Killings In South West
The reported cases of missing persons are on the increase. Almost on a daily basis someone gets missing or killed and this has become a source of concern to most Nigerians. In this report, ALO ABIOLA, examines the menace and what could be done to check it.
Published: January 29, 2021 By: Leadership, For God And Country – Alo Abiola
When irate mob, made up of mostly youths stormed the Sotitobire Miracle Centre and razed it over a missing child known as Kolawole Gold, who was a year old in Ondo State allegedly killed for rituals, many had residents of the state had thought that the menace of ritual killing would be a thing of the past in the entire South West region.
More so, that the church building and other property worth millions of naira were set ablaze on the day of the attack. Two other houses located close to the church were also torched. About five cars, including a police van, were also burnt.
Alas, the reverse is the case. Innocent lives are still being lost to the activities of armed robbers, bandits, insurgents, kidnappers and particularly ritual killers, with little or no action taken by the government and security agencies to arrest the situation.
Killing for ritual purposes and dealing in human parts are gradually assuming an alarming rate in Nigeria and the trend calls for serious actions from government at all levels.
It has been discovered that people get involved in ritual killings for different reasons and purposes.
Observers opined that the basic reasons why people irrespective of gender, age, race, religion are into it, is the lust for money, power and fame.
To achieve their dream and make things happen fast, most of these people kill while others prefer to dig graves or visit mortuaries to remove needed human parts for rituals.
As the menace snowballs, cemetery guards and workers are said to be conniving with those who deal in human parts to exhume bodies and remove vital parts and place the body back into the grave.
Reports have it that some herbalists, especially those trading in herbal stuff and even influential Nigerians engage people to get human parts for them.
It is unfortunate that this is still happening despite the increased religious activities in the country and global technological advancement.
The issue came to fore again on Sunday, January 17, 2021, when a man, people claimed was a suspected kidnapper, was arrested in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.
The yet-to- be identified man, who was arrested in an uncompleted three-storey building located opposite Ekiti State Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado Ekiti was alleged to specialise in selling human parts.
It was gathered that pictures of the victims of the suspect, ATM cards, filled passbook leaflets, a damaged phone and a cow horn were found in his possession in the building.
Some residents of the area, who could not properly identify the suspect, accused him of feigning madness and disguising as a lunatic on the street, insisting that he was using the building for his evil acts.
It took the intervention of the police to rescue the suspect from being lynched by a mob at the scene.
Reacting to the development, the Ekiti State Police Command through its spokesman, Sunday Abutu, an assistant superintendent of police said the mental state of the suspect is being investigated.
He said, “Today being January 17, 2021 at about 1350hrs, information was received that an irate mob was about to lynch a suspect at the front of an uncompleted building, opposite Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado-Ekiti.
“The Rapid Response Squad (RRS) personnel swung into action immediately by moving to the scene. The suspect was rescued to the station where investigation is currently ongoing to ascertain the state of the mental health of the suspect, as he is currently showing a sign of somebody with an unsound mind.
“Items recovered from the suspect are: two damaged handsets, one cow horn, five bank cheque leaves, six ID cards, nine ATM cards of four banks, all belonging to seven different people.
“The command implores everyone to disregard the information that the suspect is a kidnapper until investigation is concluded while assuring the people of Ekiti State that the investigation will be extended to the psychiatric hospital for medical examination.
“The Ekiti State commissioner of police, Mr Tunde Mobayo, while advising citizens to avoid taking laws into their hands anytime a suspect is arrested, implores them to always report to the nearest police station, any person or group of persons suspected to be criminals found around their environment or call 08062335577.”
For Muyiwa Salako, a community leader in the state, with the proliferation of religious groups and faith -based organisations in our country, one would have expected that these heinous acts would have reduced drastically, but unfortunately the opposite is the case.
‘’Happenings in recent times have proved that some self-acclaimed religious leaders and clerics are evil men using religion as cover up.
There were several reported cases of such fake and false clerics who were involved in the evil act.
‘’Many of them were said to have worked in cahoot with herbalists and occult people to kill and bury the head or the entire body of their victims at the altar of their church or wherever they used for their religious gathering.
‘’This is to ensure the influx of new members into their fold from time to time.
‘’Thankfully, the long arm of law is fast catching up with some of these “pastors and alfas” who are being arrested for similar acts,’’ he said.
LEADERSHIP Friday learnt that several evil forests used as kidnappers’ and ritualists’ dens were discovered in some parts of the country by security agents, where fresh and decomposing human parts were recovered.
A few years ago, there was a surge in the mysterious killing of people in one of the Southwestern state by members of a dreaded cult group.
They allegedly stormed victims’ residences while they were asleep, hypnotised them and smashed the skulls of the victims with heavy stones after which they used a handkerchief to clean the blood and brain before leaving the scene.
Some suspects, arrested in connection with the killings, were said to have revealed that each handkerchief stained with blood was sold for N500,000 to wealthy politicians, businessmen, industrialists and other well-to-do Nigerians who use them to prepare spiritual defence rituals.
It was reported some time ago that a herbalist, arrested alongside some suspected ritual killers in the southern part of Nigeria, confessed that he was preparing concoction with human parts for his clients.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP Friday on the recent incident, a resident of Ado Ekiti, Mr Akinola lamented that the abandoned building had been there for some time, saying it was not surprising that such a thing is happening there.
He called on the state government to confiscate the building if the owner was ready to complete it and put it to good use.
Another resident, Miss Tolani, said that it was the third time such an incident would be reported in the building and advised the state government to demolish it.
During the past three days I have posted three articles related to the alarming rate of ritual killings in Nigeria, in 2014. The article below contains a similar cry for attention, but now in a 2017 article. In other words, there is no interruption in the occurrence of ritual murders in Nigeria, locally called ‘money rituals’. Moreover, also in November and December 2018 and February 2020 newspapers reported that ritual killing was rampant in Nigeria. In other words, nothing has changed over the years.
This means that ritual murders are a structural problem in the Nigerian society and that both the federal government and the government of the individual states repeatedly and continuously fail to protect their citizens, which is a ****** shame. Governments have an obligation to protect the population, notably the most vulnerable, and to arrest, try and punish perpetrators of heinous crimes.
Warning: the following contains a graphic description of ritualistic acts and murders (webmaster FVDK).
NB This article was posted before, on May 24, 2018.
Why killings for rituals are on the increase in Nigeria
Published: September 2, 2017 By: Vanguard, Nigeria – Evelyn Usman
…‘Human parts for sale’
The spate of killings for ritual purposes is gradually assuming an alarming rate in Nigeria with little or no effort by concerned government agencies to checkmate the trend.
One would have expected such pseudoscience acts to be a thing of the past going by increase in religious activities and in civilization. But murdering people to appease the deities appears to be on the increase.
Ritual den
These dastardly acts are carried out in a 21 st century, when other countries of the world are experimenting and advancing in technology.
It is also shocking to know that some acclaimed high and mighty indulge in ritual killings. For instance, some politicians and government officials have been accused by arrested suspects and herbalists who allege that they use human beings for rituals in order to sustain their affluence as well as remain in positions of power.
Investigations revealed that cases of ritual killings and disappearance of persons are usually high whenever elections are around the corner.
Just last week, this barbaric act assumed a cannibalistic dimension following the arrest of a suspected kidnapper alleged to have killed one of his victims and used his intestines to prepare pepper soup.
The suspect, Roland Peter, according to the Rivers State Commissioner of Police , Zaki Ahmed, abducted his victim from his house on August 2017, adding that the suspect was at the verge of eating pepper soup and yam porridge when the police swooped on him and some accomplices.
These vampires hide under different covers to get their victims. For some, they kidnap their victims from various points , while others who pretend to be commercial bus drivers, pick unsuspecting commuters at bus-stop only to take them to their slaughter slabs to carry out what they know how to do best.
Killings for money rituals
On August 17, 2017 , the lifeless body of the four-year-old girl was found close to a shrine at 28 Ogbe Close in Iwaya area of Lagos, with her throat slit. In her case , the toddler who strayed from her siblings’ watch, on their way from the mosque, was suspected to have been used for sacrifice on the Ogun shrine which ironically is built in the same compound with her parents . Till date perpetrators of the dastardly act are yet to be fished out.
A suspected ritualist
A week earlier, precisely August 20, another lifeless body of an eight-year-old girl, Chikamso Victory , was found in the apartment of one Ifeanyi Chukwu Dike (23) at Messiah street , Eliozu area of Port Harcourt. Helpless and defenseless Victory was not only abducted by Dike, she was raped before she was killed. As at the time her body was recovered, some parts had been removed. They included her vagina, eyes, tongue and breasts which the suspect kept in a polythene bag awaiting the appropriate time to take them to his contacts. He was however, arrested by members of a local vigilante group while going to dispose of the body. But the incident assumed a laughable dimension following report by the Police that the suspect had disappeared from custody.
Elsewhere in Oyo state, on March 30, 2017 , a suspected ritualist, Tunde Jimoh, who was arrested by the Police, gave a chilling description of how he and other members of his gang abducted their victim, Akintoye Oyeyemi, took him into a deep forest and murdered him in cold blood. Thereafter, they took the body to a Muslim cleric to prepare concoction for money rituals for him. At the end of the day, the wrists, heart and legs were cut off. Luck ran out on the suspect while on his way to dump the body in the bush.
Not too long ago, reports had it that an evil forest used as ritualists’ den was uncovered in Enugu state with the recovery of fresh and decomposing human parts. The nation’s Federal Capital Territory is not speared from the rising trend of killing for rituals. Late last year, a dismembered body of an unidentified lady was recovered at the Lower Usuma Dam junction, along Dutse-Bwari Road. One of her breasts was cut off, while the rest of the body was cut into two from the abdomen, an indication that the killing was for ritual.
Badoo ritual killing
In Lagos state, the commercial hub of the country, different methods are devised by ritualists. One of such was the surge in the killing of residents by members of a dreaded cult group identified as Badoo Boys in Ikorodu area of Lagos. So far, over 50 persons have had their lives snuffed out of them by the perpetrators who were initially thought to be invisible, until they were decimated by the Police , under the watch of the new Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Mr Edgar Imohimi, while he was the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations.
Ritualist den
Before the raid and subsequent arrest of over 200 suspected members of the cult group by the Police with the support of the Oodua peoples Congress, OPC local vigilante and the Neighborhood Watch Corps, Badoo Boys had been unleashing an orgy of killings, during which they used heavy stones to crush the skulls of their victims.
Their modus operandi included storming victims’ residences while they are asleep. It is suspected that they usually hypnotize their victims, as none of them had ever been conscious of their presence. They would, thereafter, smash heads of their victims with a grinding stone and after which they use a handkerchief to clean the blood and brain before leaving the scene.
During interrogation, one of the suspects confirmed that each handkerchief stained with blood was sold for N500,000 . He further revealed that they were mere errand boys for rich politicians within and outside Lagos state.
But in their case , the blood and semen stained handkerchief were used to prepare spiritual defence for well to do Nigerians.
Mad people in disguise
The latest method devised is the feigning of madness by these criminal elements. Recently in Lagos, some persons who disguised as lunatics were discovered to be using tunnels as dens for their activities. Two instances of note were along Lagos-Abeokuta road and Ile Zik, along Agege Motor road.
The latest was an uncovered ritualits’ den Wednesday , at Challege bus-stop , Mushin, where some suspected members who posed as lunatics were found with sophisticated phones, four ATM cards and over 100 syringes with blood stains.
One of the suspects was lynched by a mob while two others were rescued by policemen from Area ‘D’ command, Mushin.
Not too long Nigerians received with shock, news of a den in Soka village, Oluyole Local Government area of Oyo state, where about 20 corpses, majority of which were earlier declared missing by their relatives, were found while 18 victims were rescued. From all indications, it was obvious that the den had been existing for long before it was uncovered, following a heap of victims’ clothes.
One of the rescued victims was reported to have said he was kidnapped in Ogun while attending an interview. The most celebrated ritual killing appeared to be the notorious Otokoto saga in Owerri, Imo State where a businessman belonging to a cult was alleged to have used his apprentice for ritual. The boy’s corpse was later exhumed at the premises of Otokoto Hotel. It exposed many other bizarre acts in hotels.
Religious leaders also involved
One would have expected such primitive acts to be going down, going by the increasing religious groups in the country. Regrettably, some leaders of religious have been caught in the act. But investigations have shown that many evil men only use religion as a cover up. They are never true religious leaders.
One of the ready cases that comes to mind was that of the arrest of a Pastor who allegedly killed a seven-year-old boy and buried his head where the church’s alter was mounted. This action was to ensure the influx of members into the church located at Odokekere/ Odogunyan in Ikorodu area of Lagos state .
Elsewhere in Edo state and Ogun states, some pastors were also arrested over similar acts.
Few months ago, an unidentified woman who left her abode in Sango Otta area of Ogun in search of spiritual cleansing at the place of a Muslim cleric popularly called Alfa , in Badagry area of Lagos, ended up being victim of ritual killing.
A 61-year-old landlord, Toafeek Hassan, who confessed to have slaughtered the woman, was found with her fresh human head and other body parts which were to be used to prepare concoction by the alfa
Investigation shows that female parts are more in demand than their male counterparts. This is because of what was described as the potency of some parts like the breasts and lower private parts in money rituals and other purposes by herbalists and occult groups.
Ritual used to elongate life —suspect
One of the herbalists who spoke with Vanguard at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, SCIID , Oseni Bello, admitted to be preparing concoction with human body parts but said he was not involved in the killings. Oseni disclosed that some of the rituals were done to elongate lives . He added that the heart was used to prepare concoction for boldness and fear.
He stated further that virgins and babies on the other hand , were used by some politicians and government officials for ritual purposes as their blood is said to be used to elongate the user’s life span as well as fortify them against spiritual attacks. These are some of the reasons, he said, killings for rituals are on the increase.
A particular case in mind was that of a South-West politician alleged to have been caught by his driver with a dissected day-old baby whose blood he was drinking. The incident as reported two years ago, occurred inside a bush, while the driver was taking his boss (names withheld) to a function. Half way into the journey, the politician was said to have ordered his driver to pull over.
He thereafter, alighted and headed for a bush with a promise to be back. Having waited without any sight of his boss, the ignorant and curious driver reportedly went in search for him,only to meet him stark naked and pouring the blood of a dissected baby into his mouth. Barely two weeks later, the driver reportedly died under mysterious circumstance.
The event that occurred before his death was related by a Pastor friend whom the deceased confided in before his demise. The lust for money and power drives these people into ritual killings.
While some kill to achieve this unfathomable dream, others resort to digging graves and removing needed human parts for ritual purpose. Saturday Vanguard scooped that most guards at cemeteries connive with agents to sell human parts. It was learnt that if a fresh human head is needed, an agent will contact some cemetery workers ahead.
In this case, the cemetery official will be on the look out for fresh dead bodies, preferably those of Muslims who are usually buried within 24 hours after death. Immediately the body is interred, they exhume the body at night, cut off the needed parts and place the body back in the grave.
Human parts for sale
Those who patronize cemetery officials are usually herbalists, herbal traders and even prominent Nigerians who usually use middle men. Surprisingly, human parts are sold in some markets in Nigeria. We gathered that a fresh human head could go for N60,000 and above, while a skull is sold for N20,000. Fresh legs are sold for N30,000 each while a decomposed leg is sold for N20,000. A fresh finger is sold for N5,000 each while the decomposed is sold for 3,000. Fresh intestines are sold for N20,000 while dry ones are sold for N5000. Pieces of fresh bones are sold for N2,000 and above.
Public react
Reacting to the upsurge , the president, Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria , AISSON Dr. Ona. Ekhomu called on the Nigeria Police to set up Special Ritual Murder Squads in various State Commands to focus on the investigation, detection, arrest and prosecution of ritual killers. He said that the high incidence of serial ritual killings demands an urgent action at the level of the police high command.
According to the first chartered security professional in West Africa, citizens were rapidly losing faith in the ability of the police agency to detect and punish ritual killers. This, he said was responsible for the increase in lynching of suspects as members of the public resort to jungle justice to get redress for the heinous murders.
Said he: “The conscience of Nigerians should be troubled by reports of recent ritual murders including that of one-year-old Success lme in Calabar whose heart was ripped out from her small body for ritual purposes and was discovered in a Church along with other items for occult rituals. There is also the case of Pastor Samuel Okpara in Ahoada East LGA of Imo State who was kidnapped, killed and cannibalized by ritualists. The pastor was reportedly beheaded and his liver and intestines used for pepper soup and plantain porridge. What a horrific occurrence?”
He also decried the excesses of the Baddoo murder cult in Ikorodu Lagos State , saying it was a direct challenge to the Police.
Economic recession in the land is not a license to commit ritual murder. Impunity encourages ritualists to commit murders because they believe they will not be apprehended or punished.
I advise Nigerians against late night outings because if a vehicular breaks down one could fall victim of kidnap by ritualists. Commuters should always write down the identification markings of public conveyance vehicles which they enter and make phone calls to loved ones to pass on the information. Because ritual murderers always wish to be unidentified. They want to kill people, but don’t wish to be apprehended. Once information about them has been passed on to someone else, it becomes difficult for them to do evil”.
Nigerians should also assess public transport vehicles before boarding in order not to board the “wrong bus. Likewise, women are advised to carry whistles on them in order to raise an alarm if there is an attempt to abduct them”.
On his part, the national Coordinator, Network on Police Reform in Nigeria , NOPRIN Mr Okechukwu Nwanguma, attributted the rise in cases of killing for ritual to collapse in moral values “
It is also caused by , ignorance and superstition, the inordinate quest and pursuit of quick wealth and lack of effective punishment system.In a way, poverty and unemployment may also be a risk factor. If Nigerians have equal opportunities to earn income in legitimate ways , there will definitely be reduction in such abominable crimes like humans killing fellow humans for ritual.”
Also baring his opinion on the matter, Treasurer of the Action Democratic Party , Cross River State Chapter, Offiong Okon, in a recent interview, advised that: “Before a church is established, government should carry out investigation before license is granted because many of the church leaders and founders are ritualists, acting in the capacity of being Pastors.”
“Government should investigate the Pastors and checkmate their activities because what they do under the cover of being a religious leader.”
This is the third posting in a row on ritualistic murders in Nigeria, locally known as ‘money rituals’. All articles were originally published in 2014. On December 20, I posted ‘Nigeria: ritual killings everywhere‘ and on December 21 ‘Nigeria: ‘How I killed, drained teenager’s blood for money ritual’ – Suspect‘. The reason for including the 2014 articles here is to demonstrate that the occurrence of ritual murders in Nigeria is not a recent phenomenon.
In fact, the history of ritual murders in Nigeria is a long one although nobody knows when the first ritual murder was committed or the total number of ritual killings. Nigeria as an independent country exists since 1960. A partial overview of ritual murders since the year 2000 can be found on the website ‘Liberia: Past and Present of Africa’s Oldest Republic, on the page ‘Not only in Liberia – ritual killings in Nigeria.’ The overview includes over 60 ritual murder cases, but it should be emphasized that it does not pretend to be exhaustive.
Warning: Readers are warned that the following article contains a graphic description of a ritualistic act (webmaster FVDK).
How 18-yr-old boy killed girl, 12, for money ritual
Ikechukwu Friday, the suspect
Published: January 8, 2014 By: Vanguard, Nigeria – Ifeanyi Okolie
LAGOS — The police in Lagos State, yesterday, said they have arrested an 18-year-old boy, Ikechukwu Friday, who allegedly killed a 12-year-old girl for money ritual.
The suspect, who is currently being interrogated at the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti, Yaba, was paraded before newsmen.
According to him, a pastor he asked for money instructed him to kill a young girl and obtain her faeces.
He said the pastor promised him N100,000 if he was able to accomplish the task.
According to him, “I attend a popular church around Ketu Street, Aguda but I live with my parents in Badagry. I just finished secondary school and I have been very broke so I approached the pastor for money but he told me that I should strangulate a little girl.
“He said when strangulating the girl, she would pass out faeces. The pastor said I should obtain the faeces and bring it to him. He said if I could do this, he would give me N100,000.
“So, on December 30, 2013, I approached a young girl, Bose Ogoja. Her mother sells food in Badagry and I usually patronise them, so she trusted me. I told the girl that I wanted to show her something and that she should follow me. So I took her to an abandoned NITEL building and locked the door.
“I pressed her neck tightly and she passed out faeces. I was, however, not able to get the faeces because I was caught before I could escape.”
The suspect, an indigene of Onitsha, Anambra State, pleaded for mercy, adding that this was his first crime.
State Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said the boy was arrested by neighbours in the area and handed over to the Badagry Police Division.
Braide said the pastor, who allegedly gave the boy the instruction, had been arrested and was already cooperating with the police.
While displaying the gruesome picture of the slain girl, Braide said: “He was arrested in an uncompleted building. The security guard manning the building told the police that he saw the boy entering the building with the girl.
“He said a few minutes later, he heard the girl screaming and later saw the boy leaving. The security guard raised the alarm and the neighbours were alerted and they arrested the boy.”
On entering the building, the discovered that the girl was dead.
“The picture of the girl’s corpse shows that the girl was naked and defecated on the floor.”
Yesterday I posted an article entitled ‘Nigeria: ritual killings everywhere‘, describing in great detail the widespread occurrence of ritualistic activities for ‘money rituals’, i.e. ritual murders, in Africa’s most populated country. One of the cases included in the article is about the murder of a 13-year old boy, Rilwan Amuda, by Muyideen Salaam, a 35 year-old apprentice at Aketegbo community in Seme, Badagry area of Lagos. The murderer gave a chilling confession of how he killed his victim.
Warning: the following article contains a graphic description of the ritual murder committed (webmaster FVDK)
‘How I killed, drained teenager’s blood for money ritual’ – Suspect
Published: July 12, 2014 By: Vanguard, Nigeria
Muyideen Salaam, a 35 year-old apprentice at Aketegbo community in Seme, Badagry area of Lagos, gave this chilling confession of how he killed a 13 year-old boy, Rilwan Amuda, in his crave for materialism.
The Ibadan-born suspect claimed he was tempted to opt for money ritual after his wife left with their two children when feeding became an uphill task for him.
According to him: “ I was alone in the video shop club owned by my master when one of my friends named Nuru came and said he knew someone who could make us rich . He told me all that was needed was just the blood of a boy of about 15 years of age.
He said all I needed to do was to get the person since he had already contacted a herbalist. In my desperation, I told him we would take Rilawan, mama elewa’s son since I had easy access to him because he usually ran errands for me and sometimes I gave him money and used closthes. We felt it was useless to go out and get someone else since Rilawan stayed in the same area with us. I made him understand that getting someone was not the problem but taking him to the herbalist’s shrine where he would be killed.
When we told baba our constraint, he gave Nuru a ring and instructed us to just touch whoever we wanted to bring with it, that the person would follow us without hesitation.
On that fateful day, I called Rilwan and touched him with the ring . To my surprise, he became dumb and followed us to the shrine. We kept him there until it was dark.
When it was midnight and there was no one in sight, we took him away from the shrine and laid him on the ground. While Nuru slashed his throat with a knife given to us by the herbalist, I held a bowl close to his neck for the blood to pour into it.
Rilwan did not put up any resistance as promised by baba because he was hypnotized. And his memory was gone.
After we collected the blood, we gave the bowl to baba and carried Rilawan’s body far away from the shrine to avoid suspicion and dumped it on the expressway so as to give an impression that he was hit by a vehicle. We thereafter, went to bath with the blood as instructed by baba.
He performed some rituals fore us and mixed the blood with a black native soap and gave us to bath with after which he said we would become rich.
But after bathing with the substance, by the third day, we did not see any money as promised by baba. We were as poor as we used to be. We were so angry and decided to go to baba’s place to fight with him.
But on our way, Rilwan’s mother held me and asked me to produce his son for him. She said she was informed that he was last seen with me. She vehemently refused to let go of my trouser even when I denied. This caused a scene and people gathered around me and started beating me. Nuru who was with me managed to escape. Policemen from Seme division came and took me away. It was at that moment I opened up.
But Nuru who lured me into it is nowhere to be found. I am left to bear the brunt alone. If I had known, I would have continued working for my master where I was paid N1,500 every month. The most painful aspect is that I do not have a mother, father, sister or brother. I am just all alone in the world. I do not want to die even though I partook in killing somebody “, he said in an emotional laden tone.
After his arrest, policemen reportedly took him to the herbalist shrine where the suspect showed them the bowl that was used to drain Rilwan’s blood. The herbalist identified as Soji Akodiya did not deny demanding for a human blood from Muyideen and his fleeing friend but he stated that the killing never took place in his shrine.
Out of curiosity, this reporter was forced to ask why he looked so haggard and tattered when he could make money to take care of himself. In response,he looked at the reporter, smiled sheepishly and said, “you will not understand”.
Continuing he said : “ Yes, I told them what they needed for money ritual was human blood. Because money ritual is one of the greatest tasks in our line. I told them they could either use their own blood for it but I believe they never wanted to and brought that of the boy. I was not around when the boy was slaughtered . I did not even know when they brought him. He was not even killed in my shrine….”
But Muyideen interrupted saying “It is a lie. You knew when we brought him. It was even you that gave us knife and a bowl to put the blood. You even told us not to kill him in your shrine for security purpose and you were aware we were going to kill him that night”.
But the herbalist ignored the interjection and continued “ I am a herbalist who speacialise in attending to barren women. I also help people to get jobs and also give charms to traders to sell more than their fellow traders. I collect, N50 to N500 , depending on what the oracle demands. It is then left for my clients to appreciate me. I got money ritual charm from a colleague ten years ago when all herbalists went for a meeting in Ijebu-ode . Usually, what we do at such meeting is to help ourselves. For instance, if I have the cure for any disease and others do not, I will give to them and vice visa.
That was how the baba gave all of us ogun owo (money ritual charm)and instructed us on how to administer to our clients . I have never used it before, this is my first time. It was even when Nuru came to me that I realised I had the charm”.
Asked why it did work for the suspect and his fleeing partner in crime, the herbalist relied “ it did not work because they did not follow my instruction. The instruction was to bathe with the prepared concoction nine days after its preparation but they used it on the third day. Had they followed the instruction, they would have noticed a total turn around in whatever they set their hands to do . Their businesses would have been lucrative . And if they leave N1000 in the bag, they would wake up to meet triple of what was there”.
Mystics. Pure mystics. It’s unbelievable the extent many go to get rich. There are the politicians who believe that charms can make them powerful and transport them into powerful positions. Even when the efficacy of these rituals is in doubt, some people still believe that rituals can change their lives for the better. Evil men continue to chase their shadows. One thing is clear. Evil begets evil. There’s a price for every bad thing. Those who indulge in these primitive and devilish tendencies never end up well.
The following article sounds unreal. Reading it, one wonders if this can be true. Is it gossip, rumor, fantasy, or indeed the reality? The article dates from July 2014 whereas many ritualistic acts described date from much further back, even 2007.
I will return to this page and add more shortly.
Warning: some images and description of ritualistic acts may be shocking (webmaster FVDK).
Horror: ritual killings everywhere in spite of civilization
Published: July 12, 2014 By: Vanguard, Nigeria – Evelyn Usman and Ebun Sessou
Looking curiously as this reporter approached her make-shift restaurant around J4 , Aketegbo community in Seme Badagry area of Lagos two weeks ago, mama Rilwan as she is popularly called, stood up from her seat, apparently thinking the stranger had come to patronize her.’ ki lefe ra? (what do you want to buy ?) she asked.
But when this writer disclosed her mission, the seeming expectation on her face dropped, giving way to a sad expression of a memory she never wishes to recall. She immediately beckoned on two teenagers later discovered to be her children to take over the stand while she went inside the shop, with this reporter following with caution.
After a long silence accompanied with a long stare at this reporter, she said: “ I recognize you now. You were here in 2007 when the incident that threw my entire life upside down occurred. My son, Rilwan would have been 20 years this month (June), had he not been sent to an early grave by my neighbor. He was my first child and also my back bone”.
Tried as she could to control her emotion as she spoke, her strength failed her. Tears trickled down her cheeks.
All was going on well for the food vendor until September 1, 2007, when her son , Rilwan, was reported missing. Three days later, his remains were found with the throat slashed, signifying that he could have been a victim of ritual killing which was said to be common in the area.
Accusing finger was pointed at one Muyideen Salam whose shop was close to the deceased’s mother’s place. He was said to have been seen with the deceased before his disappearance. After much persuasion which took a brutal dimension, Muyideen confirmed everyone’s fears, by confessing that he killed Rilwan and used his blood for money ritual.
In an interview with Sunday Vanguard at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba , seven years ago (published October 7, 2007) the then 35 year-old Muyideen gave a chilling account of how he gruesomely murdered the teenager and drained his blood, with the help of his friend, one Nuru.
Strange as this sounded, Muyideen disclosed that he was sent to get the blood of a virgin by a herbalist with which to prepare the concoction he would use to bath for nine days, after which he would become rich.
But he never lived to see his devilish wish come true ,even though he succeeded in killing the teenager. This was as a result of his arrest by policemen at Seme division. He was convicted for murder.
Muyideen’s startling confession was, no doubt, a reflection of a society that is fast becoming bestial. Killing of human beings for rituals or whatever reason, dates back to the ancient times when people used to appease the gods of the land with human blood and for the purpose of winning wars. Twins, who were considered an abomination, were killed until its abolition through Mary Slessor’s missionary works.
One would have expected that such pseudoscience should rather be imagined than witnessed in Nigeria in this 21st century, when other countries of the world are experimenting and advancing in technology. More baffling is the fact that some Nigerians still indulge in such superstitious process of ritual killings in spite of the escalation of religious groups across the country as well as the exposure of majority of the populace to education and Western culture.
Sadly, even some acclaimed high and mighty indulge in ritual killings. Some politicians and government officials have been accused by arrested suspects (and herbalists), alleging that they use human beings for rituals in order to sustain their affluence as well as to remain in power. Records also show that cases of ritual killings and subsequent disappearance of persons are usually on the increase whenever elections are around the corner.
In Lagos state for instance, about fifteen cases of kidnap attempts have reportedly been recorded in the last four months. One of the foiled attempts was at Ori-oke, in Ejigbo local council development area, two months ago, where a woman who kidnapped two primary school pupils was heard describing them as goods to an unknown person on the phone.
The saddest part of this evil act is that hundreds of victims of ritual murders only get mentioned as missing persons. While some manage, by sheer stroke of providence to escape the slaughters’ slab, others never live to share their ordeal with any person.
Investigation by Saturday Vanguard revealed that agents of these vampires who hide in forests and other unknown places are spread across the country, lying in wait like a hungry lion for their preys. Majority of their victims are innocent school children, poor street hawkers, commercial sex workers, stranded visitors and unsuspecting commuters.
Watch out for these black spots
Investigation carried out by Saturday Vanguard showed that black spots where these agents prowl include areas like Otta, Ibafo and Mowe , all in Ogun state, Epe, Ikorodu, Shagamu Road Isheri/Olowo Ira,Cele Express along Oshodi/Apapa Expressway, Badagry axis, Ikeja, Toyota Bus-stop, Mile Two, Ajah,all in Lagos State; Lagos / Ibadan Express Road; Lagos/Benin by-pass in Edo State; Igwurita ,Rumuokoro in Port Harcourt, Rivers state; Ilorin/Oro Road in Kwara state; Lokoja, Abuja Highway in Kogi State and River Kaduna. Other areas are bush paths, markets, lonely environments, hotels and brothels, popular bus stopovers or terminals, and other hot spots across the country.
Modus Operandi
Some of these agents, most times disguise as lunatics. A typical case in mind was that Clifford Orji who was arrested under the bridge at Toyota Bus-stop along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Lagos with human parts in 2001. He confessed to be selling human parts to prominent Nigerians who undoubtedly used them for ritual purposes. The amazing thing about this peculiar case was the fact that Orji who later died while in Prison custody, was presumed a lunatic. Unknown to passers-by, he only masqueraded as a mad man in order to achieve his sinister motives.
Investigations further revealed that one of their ways is to attack job seekers. They print fliers for recruitment. Some even go the extra mile to advertise for vacancies in national dailies. They then send text messages or email to applicants, informing that they have been listed for the job and will be invited for interviews. In many cases, hotels turn out to be the venues for the interviews. At this point, if the prospective applicant gets to the designated hotel, he/she will reportedly be hypnotized and thereafter taken to the slaughter’s slab which is usually in the bush or some remote places. At other times, an applicant will be informed that the venue for interview has changed on reaching the hotel, from where they will provide a vehicle, which unknown to the applicants, have been sprayed with substance that automatically puts them to sleep.
Barely four months ago, Nigerians received with shock, news of a den in Soka village, Oluyole Local Government area of Oyo state, where about 20 corpses, majority of which were declared missing by their relatives were found and 18 victims were rescued. From all indications, it was obvious that the den has been existing for long before it was uncovered, following a heap of victims’ clothes. One of the rescued victims was reported to have said he was kidnapped in Ogun while attending an interview.
The most celebrated ritual killing in the recent past was the notorious Otokoto saga in Owerri, Imo State where a businessman belonging to a cult was alleged to have used his apprentice for ritual. The boy’s corpse was later exhumed at the premises of Otokoto Hotel. It exposed many other bizarre acts in hotels.
Female parts
Investigation shows that female parts are more in demand than their male counterparts. This is because of what was described as the potency of some parts like the breasts and lower private parts in money rituals and other purposes by herbalists and occult groups.
Virgins and babies on the other hand are also reportedly used by some politicians and government officials for ritual purposes as their blood is said to be used to elongate the user’s life span as well as fortify them against spiritual attacks.
Security hints at Saturday’s Vanguard’s disposal reveal that sometimes, these ‘celebrities’ employ the services of some restaurant owners, hotel operators and their trusted domestic workers to get them virgins who are subsequently murdered for ritual purposes. Majority of girls who have fallen prey to these death traps were discovered to be secondary school students as well as those in tertiary institutions as they were at the initial stage carried away by money and expensive gifts from their assailants.
A particular case in mind was that of a South-West politician alleged to have been caught by his driver with a dissected day-old baby whose blood he was drinking. The incident as reported two years ago, occurred inside a bush, while the driver was taking his boss (names withheld) to a purported function. Half way into the journey, the politician was said to have ordered his driver to pull over.
*Joshua caught with some human skeletons
He thereafter, alighted and headed for a bush with a promise to be back. Having waited without any sight of his boss, the ignorant and curious driver reportedly went in search for him,only to meet him stark naked and pouring the blood of a dissected baby into his mouth. Barely two weeks later, the driver reportedly died under mysterious circumstance. The event that occurred before his death was related by a Pastor friend whom the deceased confided in before his demise.
The lust for money and power drives these people into ritual killings.
While some kill to achieve this unfathomable dream, others resort to digging graves and removing needed human parts for ritual purpose. Saturday Vanguard scooped that most guards at cemeteries connive with agents to sell human parts.
It was learnt that if a fresh human head is needed, an agent will contact some cemetery workers ahead. In this case, the cemetery official will be on the look out for fresh dead bodies, preferably those of Muslims who are usually buried within 24 hours after death. Immediately the body is interred, cemetery worker will exhume the body at night, cut off the needed parts and place the body back in the grave.
Human parts for sale
Those who patronize cemetery officials are usually herbalists, herbal traders and even prominent Nigerians who usually use middle men. Surprisingly, human parts are sold in some markets in Nigeria. We gathered that a fresh human head could go for N60,000 and above, while a skull is sold for N20,000. Fresh legs are sold for N30,000 each while a decomposed leg is sold for N20,000. A fresh finger is sold for N5,000 each while the decomposed is sold for 3,000. Fresh intestines are sold for N20,000 while dry ones are sold for N5000. Pieces of fresh bones are sold for N2,000 and above.
Arrests made
Five months ago, the Oyo State Police Command, arrested a Muslim cleric, one Alfa Gbolagade Dauda Ileanwo, in Agbaje area of Ibadan with three human skulls and charms. The suspect, according to the command, confessed that he had been in the trade for ten years. Though he claimed to be using the human parts for concoctions to assist sterile women, his accomplice, Saheed Azeez, countered the claim, stating rather that his boss was into money making rituals.
The command also arrested two other suspected ritual killers,Musa Dauda and Sango Olojo-Onile with a human head and two heel bones. During interrogation, Dauda revealed that the human parts were removed from a grave at Ojetete village, Kisi, for money ritual.
Olojo-Onile according to the command was arrested in April with a fresh head of a woman which still had cotton wool stuck inside the ears.
Also in Epe, the lifeless body of a 68-year-old man,Ade Lekuti, earlier declared missing was discovered at Owode, near Ogombo in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, with the head, hands and private organs cut off.
Surprisingly, the alleged killer was discovered to be his in-law, one Teju Rajimu. The suspect according to the deceased’s family, confessed to have given the missing parts to a herbalist who prepared concoction with them for him. The missing parts were reportedly pounded into powdery form and mixed with a greasy substance which was discovered in the suspect’s apartment.
Similarly, in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, a three-man gang led by one Kamaru Yusuf allegedly beheaded one Omobola Moses at Ira, a village in Oyun Local Government Area. The deceased who was a niece to one of the suspects, was reportedly lured from her parents’ abode into a bush where her head was severed. The suspects, according to report, confessed that they took the head to a 52-year-old herbalist whose name they gave as Saliu Oyewole, for money ritual.
From the West to the East and North to the South , the story is same.
In Enugu state for instance, an evil forest suspected to be a den for killers was discovered in Igbo Eze North local government area with fresh and decomposing human parts littered all over,with vital parts of some bodies missing.
Report said the victims were taken to the forest and butchered by killers who then removed the vital parts needed for money-making rituals. Some prominent citizens of the state and environs were alleged to be patrons of herbalists and native doctors who perform rituals in the forest.
One of the mind bugling incidents was the discovery of another horror sight at the Okija shrine in Anambra state. The shrine achieved notoriety in 2004 when it was raided by the Anambra State Police Command ,where 50 decomposing or shrunken bodies and 20 human skulls were found. The shrine was also reportedly patronised by politicians. Till date, politicians still visit Okija shrine.
It is tragic enough that some Nigerians still believe in gaining power and making money through this practice. But more worrisome and astonishing is the use of loved ones, such as one’s parents, siblings and wives for this devilish purpose. One of such horrifying incidents occurred in Abia state, when a 26 year-old boy allegedly killed his mother for ritual. The suspect,Ebi Onu, who hailed from Igbere, Bende council area of the state, reportedly went to Nguzu Edda in Ebonyi State where he consulted a herbalist to make charms that would make him become rich. The herbalist was said to have asked Ebi to kill his mother and bring her private part which he said would be used to prepare concoction for him. He allegedly connived with three of his friends to lay ambush for his mother along a bush path and lured his mother into taking a walk with him along that route. On sighting them, his killer friends reportedly sprang out from their hiding and hacked Ebi’s mother to death after which they cut off her private part .
Worried by her disappearance, a search party with Ebi reportedly combed the vicinity for her without luck. Report said some of the residents said they saw the missing woman with her son and consequently Ebi was subjected to questioning and tortured by some youths until he allegedly owned up and took the youths to where he buried his mother at the bank of a river . The angry youths were said to have beaten him to death , thereby depriving him of living to see his inordinate ambition of becoming rich through ritual means.
In the same vein, residents of Bale Ilado village in Morogbo area of Lagos State were thrown into panic recently after a member of the community identified as Segun Adisa allegedly beheaded his own father for money ritual .
However, in his confessional statement to the Police, the suspect claimed that he had to strike first to prevent his father whom he claimed earlier took him to a shrine where he claimed there was an attempt to kill him for money ritual.
Again in Aba, a landlord was alleged to have killed his two children for ritual purpose. The landlord (names withheld) as gathered, dashed out of his three-storey building on Omenazu road in Aba, on sighting some policemen approaching. Policemen from the Abia state command who acted on tip off, were said to have swooped on the building and according to residents of the area , two unconscious children identified as his children were found inside one of the rooms transfixed.
Not too long ago in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory , the body of a lady was found in the boot of a Honda car with plate number AG 847 SUL belonging to an Abuja based businessman whose identity was given as Abdullai Ibrahim. The suspect was said to have been arrested by policemen on patrol while he was cleaning the blood stain on the back seat of the car. Preliminary investigation, according to police sources, revealed that the suspect slit the deceased’s throat with a knife for alleged ritual purpose.
In Kaduna state, three youths were reported in 2007 to have lured a 17 year-old sugarcane hawker, Ibrahim Shehu, to the outskirts of a village and strangled him. They were said to have been at the verge of removing his eyes when policemen that were alerted by a farmer swooped on them. The suspects, according to the Kaduna State Police Command, confessed to have wanted to pluck out the eyes for money ritual.
Same year in Ibafo area of Ogun state, a woman who managed to escape from a kidnappers den alerted policemen led by one Charles Ogenegbe, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, who stormed the hideout , where a shrine used as slaughter for human beings was discovered.
Also same year in Benue, a 77 year-old woman identified as Adiya Omachi was murdered in her farmland at Odaleko, along Ikachi Adum road. Not done , her assailants reportedly slashed her private parts, signifying they could be ritualists.
In Niger state, three persons were arrested by the police for allegedly beheading a 10-year-old boy in Amale Village, Kaffi-koro District, Paiko local government area of the state for ritual.
The deceased as gathered, was lured by one Salleh Ibrahim who took him on his motorcycle from Amale village to meet two of his other accomplices: Usman Sarki and Dantala Doma. During interrogation, Sarki told policemen that he was contracted by one Gajere to bring the boy’s head for money ritual. The lad’s headless body was reportedly found in Salleh’s residence while the head was found buried in a shallow grave near Erena in Shiroro local government, pending when they would take it to the herbalist.
If the startling confession of 20 year-old Agu Nwanu, who disclosed that he had so far killed twenty children for money rituals, all in his bid to ensure he does not end up like his poor father must be taken seriously, then all hands must be on deck to address this rising incident of ritual killings. Security operatives appear to be doing their best to curb these evil and very primitive rituals. But their best appears not to be enough as the menace is on the increase going by daily reports of these killings.
Police react
When the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide was contacted on the spate of ritual killings, she said about Lagos.
“I will disagree with you on the issue of ritual killing being on the increase in Lagos state. There has not been any of such since my assumption. Sometime last year and about two months ago ,we paraded some suspects for being in possession of human parts. The arrests were effected by men of the Special Anti Robbery Squad and the suspects were arrested from other states.
“During interrogation, we discovered they had same modus operandi. They always go to the grave yard to exhume corpses. It’s something they commit in connivance with the security men at the cemetery. And the buyers, comprising the native doctors and other persons will be there.
“Let me state here that the Police as security agents do not believe in mystics. We work with facts and physical evidence. So, when you say people indulge in rituals, we do not understand that language.
What we have also recorded are cases of persons suspected to be kidnappers who were attacked by the mob. It happened at Apapa, Iyana-Ipaja , Shahsha areas . In Shahsha, a man was sighted with a little child in his car and they accused him of wanting to use the child for money ritual and a mob attacked him, without giving him room to explain himself. But for the quick intervention of the traditional ruler of the area who contacted policemen, the man would have been lynched.
“On interrogation, it was discovered that parents of the child begged him to help drop the child in school and on the way, he started crying. We invited the parents who collaborated the claim. If they had killed him, the news would have been all over the place that a ritualist was mobbed.
“Another case was of an elderly woman at Ajegunle who was seen with a day old baby. Before you knew it, people rounded her up and started beating her, claiming she wanted to use the baby for ritual. The local government chairman contacted the police who rescued the woman who said she was the grandmother of the baby and that her daughter just gave birth but was in an unstable condition in the hospital. What we did was to invite the doctor of the hospital who collaborated her claim . The doctor said he advised the woman to take the baby home while they tried to stabilise the mother. I want to use this medium to advise Lagosians not to engage in mob actions.
“On our part, we have a lot of overt and covert policemen in strategic places in the state, considering the nature of security in the country right now. We have tried to cover up sensitive places like churches, schools, motor parks among other places and we have enough security men.”
News about ritualistic activities in Nigeria abound. Nigeria is, as we all know, Africa’s most populated country. Hence, for that reason it is not surprising that the country ranks Number One in ritual murders, commonly referred to as ‘money rituals’ in this West African country.
The next few days I will present more articles on these crimes, because that is what these activities are. Cruel murders, claiming the lives of innocent people, young girls, boys, children, elder people, terrorizing the local communities. And why? – Just for superstition reasons, the belief that these practices will enhance one’s wealth, health, prestige or power. (webmaster FVDK)
Ritual victim’s head, hand sold to native doctor for N130,000
As distraught family demands justice
Published: December 19, 2020 By: Vanguard, Nigeria – Ozioruva Aliu
THE family of 35-year-old Eneshero Sunday Daudu from Igarra, Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo state who was declared missing about a month ago and later found dead and buried in a shallow grave by persons who have confessed to have used parts of his body for ritual has demanded thorough investigation and prosecution of all those involved. After weeks of uncertainty when Eneshero was declared missing in Koko, Delta state where he had visited his sister for a burial event, the family had hoped that he would soon find his way back believing he must have missed his way especially as he was said to have called a friend in Igarra that he was on his way back home but it was never to be.
The family therefore lodged a complaint with the police about his disappearance and also assisted the police in the investigation. Last week, their efforts paid off as a 25-year old Peace Onoshakpokaye who was arrested in connection with the alleged killing and dismembering of Eneshero was said to have made confession. been stranded.
According to a police source, the arrested suspect confessed that: “the deceased became stranded around 7 p.m. around Koko junction axis of the Benin – Sapele Highway in Delta state when the vehicle he boarded to Benin City developed a fault. In the course of waiting for another vehicle by the roadside, some persons approached him and asked him to follow them. We learnt that the deceased put up some resistance, but he was dragged to a large trench at the roadside and was murdered on the spot by four persons. His head and hands were severed and later taken to a native doctor in the locality for alleged money rituals.”
The said principal suspect later took the police team and health officials to recover the body that was already decomposing and he was said to have confessed that the body parts were requested by a man in Koko, Delta state who paid them N130,000.
The Edo state commissioner of police, Johnson Babatunde Kokumo who confirmed the incident said the young man was abducted and murdered in Delta state but the police in Edo state command intervened because he was declared missing in Edo and promised that a dragnet had been extended to all parts of the country in order to arrest the fleeing gang members.
A family member told Saturday Vanguard: “It has been a traumatic one month for the family since he went missing. He had attended a burial ceremony in Koko where his sister also stayed. He left his sister’s house in the morning of the fateful day and his sister thought he would be back home but that was the last seen of him. They waited patiently and they concluded that he may have gone back to Igarra but calls to his phone were no longer going through and he did not arrive at Igarra. The last conversation was when he called a friend in Igarra that he would soon arrive but he never came. We first reported the case in Igarra police station and later at the state command in Benin City where investigation began by the police which led to the situation we are in now.
This incident was carried out by a gang but only one person has been arrested, so we are calling on the police to ensure that all the other persons involved are arrested and brought to justice.
“Eneshero was a hard working young man whose elder brother stays abroad. Eneshero has been helping him to take care of the home. The news devastated all of us in the family, particularly his elder brother who had to vowed a financial reward for anybody who was able to his missing brother until we got to this sad point. The dead cannot be brought back to life but the only solace we will have is for the authorities to ensure justice for our late brother”.
