Ritualistic activities and ritual murders are based on superstition, but the occurrence of ritual killings also has everything to do with the lack of rule of law. Countries with a weak rule of law tend to show a higher prevalence of ritual murders, be it a causal relationship or a correlation.
One such a country where a weak rule of law results in a high level of insecurity is Nigeria – as repeatedly stated on this site. Very likely, not all regions of Africa’s most populated country show a similar scale of insecurity. The article below focuses on Nigeria’s South-East.
The main theme of the article concerns the prevailing lack of security in the South-East. Ritual murders contribute to this high level of insecurity, as mentioned in the article – enough reason to include the article here (webmaster FVDK).
Nigeria’s South-East is plagued by a surge in cybercrime, armed robbery, kidnapping, domestic crime, extrajudicial killings, ritual killings, and banditry.
Published: December 17, 2022 By: Garbxtpen (self media writer) – Opera News, Nigeria
Insecurity has been one of the major threats Nigerians are facing nowadays. Even though the Buhari-led administration has been putting everything in place to make sure that normalcy returns to every region of the country, some bad people in Nigeria are still causing havocs in some region of the country.
The South-East is plagued by a surge in cybercrime, armed robbery, kidnapping, domestic crime, extrajudicial killings, ritual killings, and banditry. However, while some people are so unfortunate to scrape through these insecurities, some Nigerians were so fortunate to escape from the dens of these perpetrators.
On Friday, Christopher Eleghu, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for Onuimo constituency, Imo state house of assembly in 2023 general election was reportedly killed by some unknown gunmen who stormed his house in the early hours of the day, the Punch reports.
An eyewitness who claimed anonymity disclosed that the gunmen who stormed the area operated for over two hours before they left the deceased’s house to also attack some other top politicians in the community.
While the eyewitness was further speaking to newsmen, he noted that when the villagers gathered at Eleghu’s house this morning, they all saw his dead body been inflicted with matchet cuts after the unknown gunmen killed him.
The eyewitness said, “They have killed Christopher Elehu, popularly known as Wasco. Until his death he was the Labour Party candidate in Onuimo Local Government Area. They invaded his house when everybody had gone to sleep and shot for over two hours. They killed the man and burnt his house. They also destroyed his property. His corpse was laying on the floor with matchet cuts when villagers gathered in the morning.”
Nevertheless, the Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Mohammad Ahmed Barde has vowed the the perpetrators of this crime would soon be arrested and charged to court for taking the life of this innocent LP chieftain.
The article below is not specifically describing the actual situation in one or more African countries. The article is brief and superficial. The reason why I decided to post it here is that it illustrates the fact that ritualistic killings, human sacrifices, and the belief that sacrificing a human being in a ritual with the objective to please the gods or the ancestors are as old as mankind and have occurred or are still occurring all over the world.
It goes without saying that although these age-old practices occur world-wide, they have no place in the 3rd millennium of mankind. (webmaster FVDK)
SOME OF THE DEADLIEST HUMAN SACRIFICES IN HISTORY
Published: December 12, 2022 By: Oluwatomiwa Ogunniyi – Guardian, Nigeria
In the past, human sacrifices were prevalent all over the world. The manner in which they were carried out was dreadful and not for the faint-hearted. We have compiled a list of some of the deadliest human sacrifices in history; you wouldn’t believe some of them!
Persecution of People with albinism
Albinism is a genetically inherited condition that is very rare and it affects approximately one in every 20,000 people worldwide. Though rare in the western world, albinism is fairly common in sub-Saharan Africa, most likely, as a result of consanguineous alliances. Even though albinism occurs in both males and females and is not specific to any race or ethnic group, many still believe that it is a punishment from God or a result of hard luck.
Some Africans still believe that certain parts of an albino’s body have magical powers. This belief has led to many witch doctors and those seeking ingredients for their rituals to kill them. As a result, thousands of people with albinism have been killed and dismembered, and their graves of dug up and desecrated. The scary thing is that this practice is still common in Africa today.
The Lafkenches Tribe Sacrifice
In the year 1960, the strongest earthquake and tsunami ever recorded on the moment magnitude scale hit Chile, thereby, killing thousands of people and destroying many homes and properties in the process. This earthquake became known as the great Chilean earthquake and it led to widespread fear of the possible cause. The people came to the conclusion that the god of the sea was angry with them and so they decided to offer a sacrifice.
They chose a five-year-old child and sacrificed him in a horrifying manner: he had his legs and arms and was stuck into the sand of the beach like a stake and the beach carried him away so that the waters would be calmed. The culprits were arrested and charged but they were released after two years.
The Mayan Sinkhole Sacrifices
During the pre-Columbian era, the Mayans are known to have carried out all manner of ritual sacrifices, as they believed that human sacrifice was the ritual offering of nourishment to the gods. And one manner of sacrifice practised was the sinkhole, where they deposited valuables and human bodies into the cenote as a form of sacrifice to the rain god Chaac.
They also believed that the sinkholes and cenotes were portals to the underworld and they would appease dead spirits by offering human sacrifices to them. Explorers have discovered many sinkholes including the Sacred Cenote, a water-filled sinkhole at the pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site on Peninsula. Archaeological investigations have removed thousands of objects from the bottom of the cenote, including artefacts made from gold, jadeite, copal, wood, rubber and cloth, as well as thousands of human skeletons.
The Child Sacrifice in Carthage
Child sacrifices were very common in ancient cultures maybe because they believed that children possessed innocent souls and therefore were acceptable as forms of sacrifices to gods.
The Carthaginians would have a sacrificial fire pit where children would be thrown into by their parents. The practice became very repulsive to the Carthaginian parents who became tired of killing their own children. In response, they decided to buy children from neighbouring poor tribes, or care for their servant’s children who would then be offered as sacrifices. And during calamities like war, drought or famine, the priests demanded that even the youth be offered as a sacrifice. The sacrifices were carried out on a moonlit night, the children would be killed generously and their bodies would be tossed into the fiery pit amidst singing and dancing.
The Killing of Twins in Nigeria
This is another form of child sacrifice as the killing of twins was a cultural practice among some ethnic groups in Nigeria. Back then, multiple births were seen as an abomination against the earth deity and giving birth to twins was considered a bad omen that could bring devastation or calamity upon society. Twin babies were believed not to be humans but evil.
In 1876, Mary Slessor, a Scottish missionary assigned to Calabar, gradually worked towards changing the cultural belief that twins were evil. However, by 1915, following intervention by the British government, twins and their mothers were fully integrated into their communities.
Osun State is one of Nigeria’s 36 states. It is located in southwestern Nigeria and with a population of about 5 million people it is Nigeria’s nineteenth most populous state (whereas it is the ninth smalles in area). The total population of Nigeria is an estimated 200 million people. Ogun State’s main ethnic group is Yoruba including Bolo, Igbomina, Ijesha and Oyo subgroups. Ogun State has a large Christian and Muslim population as well as people who are traditional believers. (webmaster FVDK)
Muslim Group Dissociates Members From Ritual Killings In Iwo Community
Organisation of Iwoland Muslims for Societal Responsibilities on Sunday dissociated its members from the spate of ritual killings and other criminal acts being carried out by some unknown persons in the town.
The group which condemned the inhumane act in a communique issued and signed by Sheikh Musakalimullah Olaitan after its meeting pointed out that if any Islamic clerics get involved, they should not be spared in facing the penalty.
He thereafter called on security agencies to fish out those that might have been responsible for the untoward acts and bring them to book.
“The security agencies should double their efforts in searching for the perpetrators of the past incidences in protecting future occurrences.
“The security agencies are hereby advised to ensure that identities of perpetrators are revealed, whenever they are caught and be punished accordingly, no matter how highly placed in the society.
“Members of the communities are also enjoined to work and cooperate with the security agencies in curbing this menace, by alerting the relevant authorities whenever evil men are suspected around their environments.
“Members of the organisation and indeed all religious leaders across Iwoland are by this release enjoined to always preach against the ritual and other gatherings in accordance with the teachings of Qur’an.”
Sheikh Musakalimullah added that preaching against the act should also be carried out all their respective mosques, schools and other gatherings in accordance with the teachings of Quran and sunnah.
“Also, the government and those in the judicial circle should not relent in righting all wrongs concerning the matter,” he stressed.
Security agents in Osun State, have been challenged to expose those behind ritual killings in Iwo town, regardless of their status, in a bid to stop the barbaric act.
This demand was made in Iwo town on Sunday by a group, the Organisation of Iwoland Muslims for Societal Responsibilities, at a press conference held at Iwo Central Mosque.
The group, in a communique signed by its Secretary, Sheikh Musakalimullah Abdlhadi, but read by Dr Abdulaziz Bello, also declared that killing for ritual henceforth should not be associated with Muslim clerics in the community, adding that a true believer would not engage in such activities.
The communique further read, “The organisation frowns at, and condemns the rampant and incessant act of ritual killings in Iwoland. We also frown on associating the evil act of the ritual killings with the Muslim clerics in Iwoland.
“The Organisation, therefore, calls on the security agencies to double their efforts in searching for the perpetrators of past incidences. The security agencies are by this release called upon to ensure that the identities of perpetrators are disclosed whenever any of such are caught and that they are brought to book, no matter how high in status, including any Islamic clerics involved.
“Members of the communities are also enjoined to work and cooperate with the security agencies in curbing this menace, by alerting the relevant authorities whenever any evil acts or evil men are suspected around.”
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.”
Ritual murders are not uncommon in Nigeria but it is rare that the victim is a non-Nigerian. Reportedly, the Togolese girl – allegedly a seven-year old girl but the first article below mentions her age as ten years old – was murdered by a ritual killer. in Ota, Ogun State.
The case is now under investigation.
Warning: the following articles contain graphic details (webmaster FVDK).
Suspected ritualist kills Togolese girl in Ogun State
Published: November 24, 2022 By: Adekunle Dada – Within Nigeria
Suspected ritualists have reportedly killed a 10-year-old Togolese girl in Ota, Ado-Odo/Ota local government area of Ogun State.
The tragic incident happened around 7 am on Thursday at Kilani Street, Iyana Iyesi area of Ota, Ogun State.
A friend of the victim’s mother who was a neighbour was said to had sent the girl to her home to get charcoal. But, on getting to the house, the girl sighted some hoodlums who had broken into the house, carting away some property.
It was further gathered that the attempt by the girl to run away having seen and identified them failed as they reportedly held her and killed her with a pestle.
According to PUNCH, a neighbour who pleaded anonymity said the killers were suspected ritualists who had hidden somewhere in the building, attacked her and smashed her head with a pestle.
The source said the girl’s cry for help attracted the neighbour’s attention, but she was dead before anybody could arrive at the scene.
A resident of the area, Bolanle Sunmonu, said that the neighbours searched for the suspects, but they had left and could not be found.
It was gathered that police were alerted but the suspects had long escaped before they could get to the scene to assess the situation.
Another resident said “the police have taken away the body of the victim. I know the girl very well, we used to call her Mama. The suspect killed her in cold blood. At first, we thought it was a thief, but further findings revealed that the guy is a ritualist.
“When we searched further, we discovered that the man had charms and a goat hidden in an empty building close to his victim’s house. When we got there, we saw a goat. The goat attacked one of us, but it was later killed. This is a sad occurrence,” another source stated.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, SP, Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the incident said the killers were armed robbers and not ritualists.
Oyeyemi said, “It is true. The mother is a Togolese and has a female friend who is a Ghanaian. It was the Ghanaian woman that sent the girl to her house to get her charcoal.
“Getting to the house, she met the robbers who identified her and did not want her to expose them. They killed her.
“Our men have combed all the areas but had not got them. The command will ensure they are arrested.”
I’ve repeatedly stated here that the number of ritual killings in Nigeria is too high to include all on this site. Yet for research purposes I try to keep up with the numerous reports on suspected and confirmed ritual murder cases, locally often referred to as ‘money rituals’.
Today two articles crossed my path which I do not withhold the followers of this site. The first article concerns the discovery of a corpse with vital organs missing in Plateau State, hence a case of suspected ritual killing. The second case within two months as mentioned in the article. The second story reports the arrest of a ‘Yahoo boy’, caught with human parts, and a herbalist, in Delta state. I leave the conclusion to the imagination of the reader. (webmaster FVDK)
Warning: Some readers may find the following disturbing
First article
Ritual Killing: Another Corpse Recovered In Plateau Village, Vital Organs Missing
Published: November 13, 2022 By: Ado Abubakar Musa, Jos – Daily Trust, Nigeria
The corpse of a 24-year-old identified as Ealdi Marcus has been recovered in the outskirt of Babale community of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau. The body of the deceased which was dumped in the bush was discovered on Friday afternoon with his vital organs removed.
The Plateau State Police Command confirmed the incident to Daily Trust, saying that efforts were being made to arrest the perpetrators of the crime.
Our correspondent reports that the killing of Marcus is coming barely two months after a 14-year-old, Maryam Salisu was murdered in cold blood on the outskirts of the Babale village with her vital organs also removed.
According to a resident of the community, Marcus disappeared last Saturday, and all efforts to know his whereabouts were unsuccessful until Friday afternoon when his corpse was found in the nearby bush.
Blues Samuel Bulus, commander of the neighbourhood watch in Babale, explained how the corpse was found in the bush saying, “We saw some people whose movement suggested all was not well and when we asked, they told us that they were searching for their brother who disappeared on Saturday.
“Before they came to us, we were already told that a corpse was discovered in the bush. We told them to go and confirm if the said corpse was that of their missing brother and on getting there, they discovered that it was actually the body of their missing brother.”
Nafiu Idris, a commander of hunters in the community expressed worry over the incident and called on the government to do the needful to ensure the security of the area.
He said, “We are really worried. This is the second murder in a few months and people would just be killed for nothing. We are calling on the government to come to our aid.”
Delta herbalist, ‘Yahoo boy’ caught with human parts
Published: November 13, 2022 By: Deji Lambo – Punch, Nigeria
A yet-to-be-identified suspected fraudster, alongside his herbalist, one Ike, aka Ogenesu, have been arrested after policemen attached to the Obiaruku Police Station recovered suspected human parts at the herbalist’s place in Obiaruku, in the Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the fraudster was driving to a destination in Obiaruku around 5.20pm on Friday, October 28, when five policemen, who were on a stop-and-search duty, flagged down his vehicle.
Instead of parking, the suspect zoomed off, as the policemen, who became suspicious of his action, gave him a hot chase and caught up with him.
A resident, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, said the policemen, while searching the vehicle, found a note specifying the need for human parts.
“The instruction on the note was that the man should provide a human head, hand and leg. After recovering the note, the policemen asked what he wanted to use the specified items for and out of fear, he said it was for something.
“So, the policemen embarked on full investigation by visiting the Obiaruku Police Station to obtain a warrant to search his three-bedroom flat and while searching his house, they obtained another written note requesting the same items in the first written note that was found in his car,” the resident added.
The source said after the policemen found the notes, they detained the suspect and during interrogation, he said Ike requested the human parts.
He explained that the next day, the suspect led policemen to the herbalist’s place, and while searching the premises, a decomposing corpse was found beside a fish pond.
“The herbalist used nylon to cover the corpse and since the corpse was close to the fish pond, nobody perceived the smell because of the odour around the fish pond.
“The policemen took the Yahoo boy and the herbalist to the station and they were transferred to the state command for further investigation,” the source added.
A video clip in possession of our correspondent showed the herbalist unwrapping a sack containing the bones of a corpse.
A human skull was also seen beside the sack in the midst of policemen questioning him over the incident.
In his defence, Ike was heard saying, “It was my child that was buried; I dug the grave and removed the corpse from where it was buried.”
The state police spokesperson, Bright Edafe, did not take his calls and had yet to respond to a text message sent to his mobile phone as of the time this report was filed.
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.
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
Also in Ghana, the Volta Region office of the Department of Children under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), in collaboration with Plan International, Ghana, celebrated this year’s African Union Day of the African Child.
Mr Seth Kwasi Agbi, the District Chief Executive for South Tongu, in a keynote address, condemned all harmful acts such as child trafficking, child labour, and ritualistic murders which also victimize children. (webmaster FVDK)
NHRC advocates strong mechanisms to fight harmful practices against children
Published: June 17, 2022 By: Michael Olugbode, This Day – Nigeria
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has reiterated the need to devise and strengthen national accountability mechanisms that will deter harmful practices against children, so as to enable them to attain all-around development in life.
The Executive Secretary of the commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu, stated this in his welcome remarks at the commemoration of the 2022 Day of the African Child (DAC).
He noted that the celebration was an opportunity to take stock of what has been done with regards to the adoption of policies and practices targeted at eliminating harmful practices affecting children in Nigeria.
Ojukwu, who was represented at the event by the Director of Monitoring Department, Mr. Benedict Agu, said the 2022 theme of the celebration: ‘Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy and Practice since 2013’, is appropriate as it seeks to address the peculiar human rights challenges affecting children.
He noted that these challenges, are negative harmful practices such as early/forced marriage, female genital mutilation, child trafficking among others.
He stated that against this background, the commission’s role in advancing the campaign to end harmful practices affecting children is hinged on its mandate to promote, protect and enforce the rights of all persons in Nigeria.
According to him, “Notably, the commission was a critical partner in the advocacy for the passage of the Child’s Rights Act 2003, and has been involved in continued advocacy for its adoption into Child Rights Laws of about 26 states of the federation.
“It is also a member of the State Child Rights Implementation Committee of several states in Nigeria and has continued to advocate for the mainstreaming of children’s rights in relevant policies of the government.”
Ojukwu stated that the commission has further prioritised Child Rights in its work through the creation of the Department of Women and Children, and the thematic team on the Rights of the Child, which have enabled it to take action against pervasive child rights abuses such as child marriage, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV), infanticide, child trafficking among others.
In her key message, a member of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Ms. Aver She said the commemoration of DAC is an opportunity to sensitise duty bearers on the importance of engaging children in their own issues and promoting participation as well as inclusion in line with the principles of child participation.
Gavar, who is also the director of Human Rights Education and Promotion in the commission, said the focus of the DAC 2022 is also to respond to the high prevalence of harmful practices affecting children in different parts of Africa, including rape, FGM, child marriage, infanticide among others.
She urged the government to strengthen its child protection system through increased budgetary lines across sectors dealing with child rights implementation and through the establishment of one-step centres for integrated response to child survivors of rape, child marriage, FGM and all forms of violence against children.
In her remarks, the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, disclosed that the ministry has made progress in spearheading a range of policy documents to address harmful cultural practices, like the implementation of the Child’s Rights Act (CRA) 2003, National Guidelines on Establishment of Child Care Institutions, and National Strategy on Elimination of Child Marriage.
The Volta Region office of the Department of Children under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), in collaboration with Plan International, Ghana, have celebrated this year’s African Union Day of the African Child with a call to end harmful practices affecting children.
In an address, Mr Israel Akrobortu, the Volta Regional Director of the Department of Children, said some traditional customs and practices conflicted with children’s rights and were harmful to their development.
“Child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation are two of the most discriminatory harmful cultural practices that have been committed regularly over long periods that some communities and societies have come to accept,” he said.
Mr Akrobotu called on duty bearers to take urgent steps to stop such negative practices, which were affecting children, especially female genital cutting, to protect the vulnerable, especially girls from all unnecessary and dangerous practices.
Mr Seth Kwasi Agbi, the District Chief Executive for South Tongu, in a keynote address, said it was important to focus on the vital efforts of communities and child rights activists working on policies and practices to eliminate “these harmful practices affecting children on the continent.”
He explained that the acts, such as child trafficking, child labour, ritual murder, and defilement, if not curbed and eventually eliminated, would be detrimental to the growth and development of the continent.
Mr Alfred Dzikunoo, Programmes Coordinator, and a representative from Plan International, Ghana, said Plan Ghana had made many contributions to end the canker against the Ghanaian Child.
The interventions include empowering girls with life skills, knowledge and networks to become empowered agents of change in their own lives, engagement of duty-bearers such as GHS, DOVVSU, and DSW to improve education on child marriage FGM, and child labour.
Torgbi Atsugah Sogah Il, a Divisional chief from Fieve Traditional Area, implored participating students to be good ambassadors and serve as role models for other children in their communities as well as cultivate the habit of championing the right to education.
The 2022 celebration was on the theme: “Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy and Practices since 2013.”
Comboni Senior High Technical School garnered 18 points against 15 by Sogakope Senior High School (SOGASCO) to win the debate on the topic: “Has the policies on harmful socio-cultural practices affecting children since 2013 curbed the menace,?”
The “Day of the African Child” dates back to 1991 when the African Union (AU) initiated a remembrance of the children who lost their lives in a peaceful protest in Soweto, South Africa, in 1976.
The event attracted school children, officials from the South Tongu District Education Directorate, teachers, local government staff, and traditional rulers within the South Tongu District.
In a recently released document of the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF), Revealing Our Hidden Shame – Addressing Charges of Witchcraft and Ritual Attacks, it is being reported that “hundreds of thousands of children in Africa are believed to be accused every year of what is widely regarded across Africa as a particularly heinous crime: witchcraft”.
In the document, 19 Sub-Sahara African countries are mentioned as the scene of cases of the commission of rural infanticide crimes, attacks against children with disabilities, ritual attacks against children with albinism and cases of violence against children accused of witchcraft.
The 19 SSA countries are scattered across the continent and it is believed – in view of the scarcity of data – that the cases which have come to light only constitute the tip of the iceberg.
It goes without saying that there is no place in the 21st century for these practices and crimes.
Warning: Some readers may find the following story disturbing (webmaster FVDK).
Cult-related attacks against children still occur in at least 19 SSA countries
Published: June 2, 2022 By: LUSA – Macau Business dot com
Angola is the only Portuguese-speaking African country mentioned in a report released on Wednesday by the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) on the practice of ritual attacks against children.
In the document, “Revealing Our Hidden Shame – Addressing Charges of Witchcraft and Ritual Attacks”, presented Tuesday in a video conference from Addis Ababa, “hundreds of thousands of children in Africa are believed to be accused every year of what is widely regarded across Africa as a particularly heinous crime: witchcraft”.
ACPF executive director Joan Nyanyuki argues in the introduction that “across the African continent, much has been done to improve laws and policies aimed at ending violence against children.”
“Some progress has been made in establishing the systems and structures needed to implement and enforce these policies and laws. These efforts, however, have not sufficiently addressed an important dimension of violence against children: accusations of witchcraft and ritual attacks,” it adds.
In the document, 19 countries are referenced as the scene of cases of the commission of rural infanticide crimes, attacks against children with disabilities, attacks against children with albinism and cases of violence against children accused of witchcraft.
“The report documents, to the extent possible in light of the scarcity of data, how widespread accusations of witchcraft are across the continent (although they vary in extent over time and from place to place). Best estimates suggest that hundreds of thousands of children face accusations every year in Africa and subsequently suffer serious violations.”
Examples given by the document point to reported cases of ritual infanticide in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar and Niger, while Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Essuatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Madagascar, Rwanda and Zimbabwe have reported ritual attacks on children with disabilities.
Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali and Tanzania have reported attacks on children with albinism and in South Africa, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania cases of violence against children accused of being witches are reported.
“To protect children from the harm of witchcraft accusations, it is not necessary to deny that ‘witchcraft’ exists. Instead, it is important to prioritise child protection while preventing child abuse by addressing the belief that such abuse can somehow protect communities from perceived danger,” the document argues.
The research that resulted in the report found that with the exception of work done by some non-governmental organisations, “few organisations and states in Africa make systematic efforts to prevent such abuse”.
“Few prohibit accusations. Services for children who have suffered harm and violence related to accusations are few and far between. This area needs urgent attention,” argues the report.
Joan Nyanyuki argues “a comprehensive and coordinated effort by state and non-state actors is needed to uncover the nature, magnitude and impact of violence related to accusations of witchcraft and ritual attacks. This approach will ensure that child protection systems, laws and policies are enhanced to adequately address these forms of violence against children.”
Saving Africa’s Witch Children (dated June 22, 2009) reporting on how thousands of small children in Nigeria are branded witches. The web page also contains a large number of news reports and articles (2005-2009) including websites of organizations fighting against these cruel and illegal practices.
