Category Archives: northern Nigeria

Ritual killings: Experts call for urgent action over rising cases in Northern Nigeria

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Warning: the following post contains graphic details which may upset readers (webmaster FVDK)..

Nigeria is a federal republic comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Abuja. The 36 states are divided into six geopolitical zones commonly called zones.

Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones

The North West (NW), North East (NE) and North Central (NC) zones constitute Northern Nigeria. Politically, historically and culturally we may distinguish Northern and Southern Nigeria, but these broad categories don’t do justice to the great differences that exist within these areas. When I first went to Nigeria, in 1999, I asked a friend who knows the country very well what to expect. ‘Nigeria is a nice set of countries‘, she said.

This short statement says it all. It’s hard to speak of one country, although it has one constitution and one flag and is a member of many international organizations.

The Northern region consists of 19 states and the Federal Capital territory (FCT) of Abuja, the Southern region houses 17 states.

Map of Nigeria showing states in the northern and southern regions.

In the past I have on many occasions paid attention to the scourge of ritualistic murders in Nigeria and related practices such as abductions and torture. Let me suffice to refer to my recent post dated March 15, The horror of ritual killings in Nigeria, which also includes ritual murder cases in Northern Nigeria.

The article below provides several examples of reported ritual murders both in Northern and Southern Nigeria. The author, Hadiza Musa, pleading for more attention to the surge in ritual killing in northern states, reports that ‘Between January and April 2025 alone, at least 10 cases have been reported across Kwara, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Benue, Abuja and Bauchi states.’ Not surprisingly, residents of northern states (Kaduna, Kano, Katsina) came into the public eye calling for the death penalty for ritual killers and cannibals.

Moreover, it is necessary to emphasize that the number mentioned above refers only to reported ritual killings, and thus in all likelihood is only the tip of the iceberg.

On more than one occasion I’ve stated here that most likely Nigeria holds a dismal continental record of being the country with the highest number of ritual murders – only partly explained by being Africa’s most populous country. Hadiza Musa refers to research by an NGO, the West African Network for Peace Building, revealing that Nigeria recorded 185 ritual-related deaths between January 2021 and January 2022.

In addition, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that over 150 ritual killing cases often linked to young people seeking quick wealth, were recorded in Nigeria in the past six months.
(FVDK)

Ritual killings: Experts call for urgent action over rising cases in Northern Nigeria

Published: April 8, 2025
By: Hadiza Musa – Daily Post, Nigeria

“Ritual Killing” a term referring to the intentional murder of individuals for spiritual, economic, or supernatural purposes, often involving body mutilation or organ harvesting were often associated with Southern Nigeria where they were linked to wealth-seeking practices, political power struggles, and deep-rooted traditional beliefs.

Over the years, several high-profile cases have reinforced this perception.

One of the most infamous cases was the 2004 Okija Shrine discovery in Anambra State, where the police uncovered dozens of human skulls and decomposing bodies allegedly used for sacrifices by politicians and businessmen.

Similarly, in 2014, the Ibadan ‘Forest of Horror’ was exposed, revealing a den of ritualists who had abducted, killed, and harvested body parts from their victims.

In recent years, however, there has been a notable shift, with cases of ritual killings increasingly reported in Northern states such as Kwara, Nasarawa, Jigawa, and Bauchi.

While ritual killings were once largely associated with Southern Nigeria, the rising economic challenges and the erosion of moral values have played a significant role in their spread to the North.

Between January and April 2025 alone, at least 10 cases have been reported across Kwara, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Benue, Abuja and Bauchi states.

In January and in Nasarawa State, Timileyin Ajayi, described as a gospel singer, allegedly murdered a lady, 24-year-old Salome Adaidu, and dismembered her body.

He was caught carrying the severed head of his victim in a bag, which alarmed onlookers, leading to his apprehension.

When he was arrested by the police, other dismembered parts of the deceased’s body were recovered from his home.

The deceased, Salome Adaidu was identified as a member of the National Youth Service Corps who was serving in Abuja.

Also, in Kwara, a final-year student, Hafsoh Lawal, was lured and killed by Abdulrahman Bello, a self-proclaimed cleric and her boyfriend whom she met on Facebook.

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

The headless corpse of the pupil was discovered by the roadside in Jikas-Dabaja village, Gwaram Local Government Area, Jigawa on March 12 (Wednesday).

The body was mutilated, with the private parts removed, prompting the police to launch an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the gruesome act.

On Sunday, March 16, the Police Command in Jigawa State announced the arrest of a 45-year-old suspect in connection with the crime.

The suspect, a teacher of the deceased, was apprehended and detained following a tip-off.

Experts call for urgent action as ritual killings surge in Northern Nigeria

The incidents and many others highlighted the urgent need for comprehensive measures to address ritual killings in the region with stakeholders, attributing the trend to economic struggles, poverty, and lack of education.

Comrade Umar Hamisu Kofar Naisa, Executive Director of the Society for Educational Development and Socio-Democratic Activities (SEDSAC), linked the surge in ritual killings to poverty and the worsening economic conditions in the region.

He told DAILY POST that illiteracy and lack of education play a significant role in fueling such heinous acts.

According to him, ritual killings violate human rights, instill fear, and create insecurity in communities.

“If we examine the situation closely, ritual killings not only violate human rights but also instill fear and insecurity in communities. The psychological trauma experienced by victims’ families and survivors is immeasurable,” he stated in an interview with DAILY POST.

On legal responses, he urged the government to strengthen policies that protect human rights and enact specific legislation to prosecute perpetrators of ritual killings.

He also stressed the need for collaboration among various stakeholders to curb the menace.

Hamisu called on NGOs to intensify awareness campaigns on the dangers of ritual killings, provide support to victims’ families, and advocate for policy reforms.

“We must ensure that policies are created and enforced to put an end to ritual killings in Nigeria,” he added.

He further advocated for grassroots strategies and community engagement, emphasizing the role of traditional and religious leaders in tackling the issue.

“What was once seen as a problem in the South is now happening here. We must work together to stop it,” he urged.

Suleiman Hamza, a student in Ibrahimul Ahmadul Qadhi Islamiyya, highlighted the strong stance of both Islam and Christianity against killings.

He referenced Islamic teachings, noting that taking a life unjustly is akin to killing all of humanity.

“In Islam, the sanctity of human life is paramount. Even in cases of accidental killing, compensation is required, which today can amount to as much as ₦344.8 million,” he explained in an interview with DAILY POST.

Hamza described ritual killings as a new and disturbing phenomenon in the North, stating that in some cases, perpetrators even resort to exhuming corpses from graves for ritualistic purposes.

According to him, there have been more sermons in both churches and mosques, as well as intersectoral conferences and seminars, emphasizing the need to address ritual killings and their root causes.

He called on religious leaders to intensify sermons against such practices and educate the public on the severe consequences of engaging in ritual killings.

Nigeria accounts for a significant number of ritual killings

According to research by an NGO, the West African Network for Peace Building, Nigeria recorded 185 ritual-related deaths between January 2021 and January 2022.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that over 150 ritual killing cases often linked to young people seeking quick wealth, were recorded in Nigeria in the past six months.

The experts argued that the surge in ritual killings in Northern Nigeria signals a disturbing shift that demands urgent intervention and unless decisive action is taken by policymakers, security agencies, and societal leaders, ritual killings could become an even greater threat to public safety and human rights in the region.

Source: Ritual killings: Experts call for urgent action over rising cases in Northern Nigeria

Nigeria: Insecurity: Government must keep its end in this social contract, says Ekhomu

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Yesterday a posted an article entitled ‘Curbing the menace of ritual killings in the southwestern states‘.  Appropriate as it was to draw the attention of our readers to this worrisome and frightening situation, it nevertheless seems useful to paint a more general picture of the security situation in Sub-Saharan Africa’s most populous country.

Everyday Nigerians are facing an extremely dangerous situation consisting of political and criminal violence, ritual murders (‘money-rituals’), abductions, kidnappings, ransom cases,  by terrorists, bandits, political thugs, ritual killers, cultists, criminals, and traditional herdsmen. A personal experience in this respect may illustrate the foregoing. 

A couple of years ago I visited Nigeria for professional reasons. My employer, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, had made the use of a special, armored car mandatory for government officials when traveling in Abuja or the rural areas. The only other countries with a similar precaution and obligation were Iraq and Afghanistan. No wonder, that last year the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) ranked Nigeria the third most dangerous county on earth, after Afghanistan and Iraq.

Therefore, I consider it useful to get to know the observations and warnings of Dr. Ona Ekhomu, a well-known Nigerian security expert, when reading about and analyzing ritual murders in the Nigeria. As repeatedly said before, Nigeria ranks number One with respect to ritual murders in Africa, but this should nevertheless be judged against the background of an alarming security situation in general (webmaster FVDK). 

Insecurity: Government must keep its end in this social contract, says Security expert, Dr. Ona Ekhomu

Dr. Ona Ekhomu

Published: January 2, 2021
By: The Guardian News, Nigeria

I REALISTICALLY expect the security situation in Nigeria to worsen this year. Given that the national and sub-national governments have not taken the time to understand the scope of threat and risk spectrum, there is no serious effort to resolve the security conundrum. 

The authorities have continued to rely on intuitive thinking in a situation that requires critical thinking and complex problem-structuring and problem-solving methodologies. 

Therefore, the security situation will worsen because a wound that is not treated becomes an ulcer. In research design, we say that past is prologue to the future. So, what is the evidence of insecurity in Nigeria? Amnesty International recently published that in the first six months of last year, over 1,126 persons were killed mostly in the rural areas where “the authorities have left communities at the mercy of rampaging gunmen.”

According to Dataphyte Nigeria, over 70,000 Nigerians have been killed in the last nine years in acts of criminal violence. The Boko Haram/ISWAP insurgency has killed over 37,500 persons, displaced 2.5 million and created 244,000 refugees. In the first quarter of 2019, Nigeria recorded over 685 kidnap for ransom cases. 

Clearly, this statistic will pale into insignificance when you consider 4th quarter of last year, where in one fell swoop, over 344 students were abducted in Kankara, Katsina State. 

In December alone, about 26 travelers were seized by bandits along Benin-Auchi road and marched into the forest at Igieduma in Edo State. The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad III, at the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council meeting in Abuja in November last year, warned that the security situation in northern Nigeria had gotten out of hand and bandits (terrorists) had overrun the region. 

He said in some parts of the north, bandits walk around openly carrying AK47 rifles without being challenged by security agents. The Sultan revealed that 76 persons were killed in a Sokoto community, yet it went unreported. The frequency of kidnappings, killings, murders had become high that it was not news worthy anymore.

The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) for last year ranked Nigeria the third most terrorism impacted nation on earth. With this ranking, Nigeria is rubbing shoulders with Afghanistan and Iraq.

The security scorecard for Nigeria last year is very poor. Government performed below expectation in its most important duty of keeping citizens safe, as kidnappers, bandits, killer herdsmen, cultists, ritual killers and political thugs had a field day at the expense of citizens.

The Northwest terrorism (euphemistically referred to as banditry) intensified with several communities in Zamfara, Katsina, Niger, Kaduna and Sokoto states deserted due to incessant attacks and wanton killings and kidnappings by the aggressors. The so-called bandits have resorted to levying farmers millions of naira to harvest their farms. The situation in the Northwest is likely to trigger a food crisis in Nigeria this year. 

In the Northeast region, Boko Haram/ISWAP insurgency continued to flourish, with terrorists attacking targets at will and shedding blood of innocent citizens without compunction. 

The chief driver of insecurity in Nigeria is the incapacity of security agencies to prevent attacks against soft targets. The philosophy of the security agencies is to take casualties and then counter-attack. 

The agencies are supposed to design an architecture that will prevent attacks in the first place. However, due to severe resource constraints and leadership factors, they adopt the counter-punch strategy. In other words, the authorities are adopting a law enforcement approach to a terrorist threat. 

In dealing with terrorism, the best approach is prevention and disruption of plots. Any time a terrorist attack occurs, the effects are devastating. Every incident of terror (mass kidnap of travelers, mass abduction of school children, suicide bombing, roadside bombing, attack on traditional rulers on the highway, brutal rape of female travelers, killing of farmers in the bush, even cannibalism by killer herdsmen, etc.) is a statement of grave insecurity. 

Many Nigerians avoid road travels because of fear of terrorist attacks along the Kaduna-Abuja highway, Lokoja-Okene highway or Benin-Auchi highway. These are killing fields where bandits emerge from the foliage and open fire on total strangers, not a targeted attack to rob them and then kidnap the survivors of the initial attack for ransom. Those unable to pay ransom are liable to be executed. In some instances, ransom is paid and the victim is killed.

The unfortunate trends in insecurity will continue and probably be exacerbated. What are the trends?
There would be an increase in highway kidnappings. It is a low risk and high yield venture that government does not seem willing to confront head on.

There would be an intensification of Northwest banditry, as the vast landscape is largely ungoverned. A situation where bandits could hide 344 students in Rugu Forest is unfortunate.

The Northeast insurgency is likely to intensify. The new leadership of ISWAP is quite bloodthirsty and would continue to tax communities and kill persons without justification.

Attacks on Army Supercamps by ISWAP will continue. Having succeeded in overrunning military bases and posts, the terrorists would take on the more hardened targets, like Supercamps.

Ansaru terrorist attacks would multiply and flourish in Kaduna and Kogi states. These terrorists are likely to infiltrate south into Edo and Delta states. Security planners in those South-South states are urged to be forward thinking.

The epidemic of terrorist violence would continue with piracy and illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta region. The IPOB agitators would continue to attack Police personnel and soft targets in the Southeast.

Cult violence would continue to claim lives in Edo, Delta, Rivers and Cross River states.
Ritual killings would continue to flourish in the Southwest states.

Source: Insecurity: Government must keep its end in this social contract, says Ekhomu