Recently, on March 2, I posted an article – dated February 26 – on the subject mentioned in the heading: ritual killers and kidnappers who have been found guilty may face the death penalty in Osun State. I added critical comments which I won’t repeat here. Readers are referred my March 2 posting.
Now it has become official. On Tuesday, March 10 the Osun State House of Assembly has passed into law a bill that makes kidnapping, banditry and ritual killing a crime which is punishable by death. Will the capital punishment act as a deterrent? Or will in practice it serve s a means to revenge the heinous crime committed, not more and no less? Only the future will tell. We will follow up on the upcoming events in Osun State (webmaster FVDK).
Osun Assembly okays death penalty for kidnappers
Speaker Timothy Owoeye
Published: March 11, 2020 By: The Nation – Toba Adedeji, Osogbo
Osun State House of Assembly has passed into law, a bill prohibiting kidnapping, banditry and ritual killing.
The bill, which was passed into law on Tuesday, was read for the third time, having passed through debates to correct identified grey areas by the committee of the whole of the House of Assembly.
Speaker Timothy Owoeye said that with the passage of the bill, Section 364 of the Criminal Code Cap 38 Law of Osun, which stipulated 10 years for kidnappers, stood repealed and replaced with the death penalty.
He said: “Where the life of the person kidnapped, restrained or seized is lost in the process, the kidnapper(s) is liable on conviction and will be sentenced to death.”
Owoeye said any person who kidnaps another person by any means or instilling fears or tricks or compels another to do anything against his will commits an offence.
Said he: “Where the life of the person kidnapped is lost in the process and the kidnapper is liable on conviction, he or she is to be sentenced to death.
“Not lost in the process, but he is released upon payment of a ransom or performance of a ransom act, the kidnapper is liable on conviction to repay the sum he/she received as ransom and to imprisonment for life and the ransom act shall be reversed.
“Any person who knowingly or willingly allows his premises, building or place belonging to or occupied by him or her and which he has control over to be used for purposes or keeping a kidnapped person, commits an offence and liable on conviction to imprisonment for 15 years and such building shall be forfeited to the government for public use.”
Owoeye said the passed bill will soon be transmitted to Governor Gboyega Oyetola for his assent as soon as administrative processes are completed.
Osun state assembly has passed the bill seeking to impose the death penalty for kidnappers, bandits and money ritualists
The move became necessary in order to tackle the insecurity concern in the southwest state
Explaining the mission of the bill, Osun speaker Timothy Owoeye said the kidnappers will be sentenced to death should the victims die
The war against kidnapping received a massive boost as Osun assembly completed the passing of a bill which will henceforth tackle abduction and ritual killing in the southwest state.
The assembly passed the bill on Tuesday, March 10, which will also hopefully tackle the cases of banditry in the state, The Nation reports.
Speaking at the assembly complex after the bill scaled through the legislative hurdle, Osun speaker Timothy Owoeye said any kidnapper found henceforth will be made to face the wrath of the law and be sentenced to death.
Osun assembly okays death penalty for kidnappers, ritualists
Published: March 11, 2020 By: Blueprint
The Osun state House of Assembly has passed into law a bill that makes kidnapping, banditry and ritual killing punishment by death sentance.
The bill, which was passed into law on Tuesday, was read for the third time, having passed through debates to correct identified grey areas by the committee of the whole of the House of Assembly.
Speaking after the passage, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, said with the passage of the bill, Section 364 of the Criminal Code Cap 38 law of Osun, which stipulated 10 years for kidnappers, stood repealed and replaced with the death penalty.
“Where the life of the person kidnapped, restrained or seized is lost in the process, the kidnapper(s) is liable on conviction and will be sentenced to death.”
“Where the life of the person kidnapped is lost in the process and the kidnapper is liable on conviction, he or she is to be sentenced to death.
“Not lost in the process, but he is released upon payment of a ransom or performance of a ransom act, the kidnapper is liable on conviction to repay the sum he/she received as ransom and to imprisonment for life and the ransom act shall be reversed.
“Any person who knowingly or willingly allows his premises, building or place belonging to or occupied by him or her and which he has control over to be used for purposes or keeping a kidnapped person, commits an offence and liable on conviction to imprisonment for 15 years and such building shall be forfeited to the government for public use.”
Owoeye said any person who kidnaps another person by any means or instilling fears or tricks or compels another to do anything against his will commits an offence.
Owoeye said the passed bill will soon be transmitted to Governor Gboyega Oyetola for his assent as soon as administrative processes are completed.
Is the capital punishment a justifiable sanction or a sufficient deterrent to ritualistic murders, money rituals, muti murders, or whatever one calls the heinous crimes which ruthless criminals commit to increase their wealth, prestige or power? In Osun State, Nigeria, legislators contemplate to prescribe the death penalty for kidnappers and ritual killers. See the article below.
The United Nations has voted in favor of a moratorium on the death penalty (though Nigeria was among those voting against the resolution). It is to be doubted seriously if the capital punishment serves as a deterrent to ritual killers. Wouldn’t it be more logical and useful to eradicate superstition – which lies at the base of the belief in juju – by providing the necessary education and to create more job opportunities? (webmaster FVDK).
Kidnappers to Face Death Penalty in Osun
The Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Hon Timothy Owoeye
Published: February 26, 2020 By: This Day, Nigeria – Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo
The Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Hon Timothy Owoeye, yesterday said the state kidnapping and other related crimes (prohibition) bill 2020 would prescribe death penalty for kidnappers and also compliment efforts of the Amotekun Corps when fully inaugurated.
The Speaker at the public hearing on Osun State kidnapping and other related crimes prohibition bill 2020 stated that it is imperative to have an enabling law to ensure quick and diligent prosecution of kidnappers.
Owoeye pointed out that ever since the issue of Amotekun Corps arose, there has been a downward trend in the cases of kidnapping in Osun and other South-western states.
He held that the seveth Assembly under his watch is reviewing the existing laws on kidnapping which recommended that 14 years would be reviewed to death penalty.
The Speaker added that should the bill scale through the needed stages, those caught with human parts and kidnappers whose victims dies in the process of abduction would face death sentence as against imprisonment obtainable before now.
Owoeye noted that with the way kidnapping is becoming lucrative, it is sacrosanct that laws with severe consequences be put in place to protect Nigerians from kidnappers.
According to him, “Ever since the issue of Amotekun came up, I have noticed downward cases of kidnapping in Osun and other South-western states; however I am more afraid of the surge in ritual related cases.
“The country was saddened at the gruesome murder and dismembering of a 23-year-old 400 level LASU student, Favour Oladele, for money ritual purposes. We the Osun people are sadder that the killing took place in Ikoyi town, in our own soil.
“As parents and community leaders, we must begin to re-orientate our young ones on this prevailing get-rich-quick syndrome. There is no shortcut to success, the only way is preparation, hard work, patience and perseverance.”
Also, the Chairman of Osun Civil Society Coalition, Waheed Lawal, has given reasons for government at all levels to re-double their efforts to create job for employable youths, stating that it would go a long way in reducing the crime rate in the country.
Police Community Relations Committee Chairman in the state, Amitolu Shittu, on his own, commended the seventh Assembly for championing the crusade to bring sanity to the society.
Read this “chilling story of how a prison warden, moviemaker and con-herbalists abduct, butcher 30-year-old hunchback in Osun State, Nigeria, for money ritual.” The cold-blooded murder of an innocent man for money ritual occurred in September last year and the article was published in December.” Warning: the article contains graphic details of the heinous crime the accused allegedly committed (webmaster FVDK).
Reporters of the Saturday Sun were able to interview some of the suspects in police custody – which his amazing and raises several questions. Who authorized these interviews and why? Is this in conformity with the defendants’ rights, despite the horrible accusation against them and their alleged responsibility and guilt? What is the added value of interviewing people in detention who have not yet been tried by an impartial court?
The following article is a sad story. We sympathize with the victim and his dear ones. Once more, it is demonstrated that the belief in the power and juju obtained through ‘money ritual’ in Nigeria is widespread. We must fight against ignorance and superstition and compliment the Nigerian authorities for all efforts to help eradicating this evil from Nigerian society (webmaster FVDK).
Nigeria: Hunchback hunters
Published: December 21, 2019 By: The Sun, Voice of the Nation – Chioma Okezie-Okeh
On September 15, 2019, a 30-year-old hunchback, Olusegun Fasakin, was abducted from his home at Igangan-Ijesa, Atakunmosa East Local Government Area of Osun State. All efforts by the police, his family and friends to locate him did not yield any result. His abductors never called to demand a ransom.
The truth of what became of him recently resurfaced. It was an accidental discovery by law enforcement agents tracking a suspect of a robbery case.
Since then, detectives have picked some of the suspects involved and interrogated them. The suspects sang like canaries, divulging the ghastly details. The suspects are a ragtag group of desperadoes, that include a prison warden (correctional officer) and a set of herbalists who are ex-convicts previously jailed for a similar offence.
Saturday Sun interviewed some of the suspects in police custody. Their stories add up to a macabre tale of the cold-blooded murder of an innocent man for money ritual.
Discovery by mistake
Acting on a petition by the victims of the armed robbery incident that took place in Ijesa, on October 10, 2019. Head of the Inspector General of Police, Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari, drafted operatives at its Osun annexe to investigate the case.
The IRT team, led by Chief Superintendent of Police Bisiriyu Akindele, tracked down one Akinyemi Oyebode who participated in the robbery. While on his trail, detectives intercepted a phone conversation between him and a prison warden. In the conversation, he was heard threatening to expose a prison warder if he fails to pay him some money.
He was grilled after his arrest, during which he made a clean breast that the incident he was talking about was the abduction and killing of Olusegun Fasakin, a 30-year-old hunchback.
Law enforcement agents consequently rounded up those allegedly involved in the crime. The suspects were identified as Akinyemi Oyebode, Jamiu Adeniyi, Isaac Ayandokun (a.k.a. Baba Niyi), Kehinde Oladokun (a.k.a. Alfa), Ojo Taiwo Olasukanmi (a.k.a. Ifa) and Mukaila Kolawole (a.k.a. Baba Beji) who all claimed to be herbalists, and Charles Adebusuiyi, a serving prison warder at the Ilesa Correction Centre.
Presently, all primary suspects, save for the prison warden, have been arrested
The search for a hunchback
Saturday Sun spoke with Akinyemi Oyebode, the suspect originally tracked by IRT operatives.
He alleged that several meetings were held inside the office of Charles Adebusuiyi at Ilesa Correctional Centre.
The 24-year-old, a native of Okemesi in Ekiti State, was a school dropout who trained as a vulcanizer, but has served time in prison, jailed in 2016 after he was found with wraps of Indian hemp during a raid by operatives of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). He was released earlier this year after three years behind bar.
His family sought to straighten his life. They bought him a motorcycle so he could earn his daily bread as a commercial bike man. He soon made a lot of customers including the prison officer.
“He was one of my early customers and I normally pick and drop him in front of the prison. One thing led to another and I told him that I have spent about three years in prison. Gradually we became friends and sometimes he will invite me to come and have a drink with him,” he said.
Oyebode insisted they held several meetings in his office at the prison premises.
“This was how I got to know the likes of Alfa, Baba Beji and Ifa who are all herbalists,” he said. “One of the days that I took Charles to Sabo, I overheard them talking about doing rituals to make money. I needed money at that time so I was interested. As soon as Charles came out and we were heading back to town, I told him that I am also interested in what I overheard and he assured me that he will alert me when everything is set. I was so excited especially when he told me that he was going to pay me one million at the end of the deal.”
Oyebode admitted he knew they were going to abduct someone for money ritual only that he was not sure who the target was.
His story threw illumination on the dark deed that took place on the night of September 15.
He narrated: “Few days later Charles called me to come and pick him up that we have an important job. I took him to where his car was. Three other persons were already there. They were not the regular faces that I knew.
“When we got to Igangan Square around 10 pm, he asked us to wait, while he and the three young men went into the neighbourhood. In less than 20 minutes, they came back dragging one tall man with them. The man did not resist or shout; he was just following them like a fool. They put him in the car and drove off. Charles told me not to worry that he would handle everything.”
After waiting for some days and it was clear Charles had no intention to give him any money, Oyebode called up and threatened to tell the police what he was up to.
The warden pacified him with N18, 000. In the meantime, one of his friends invited him to join a robbery gang.
“We attacked a compound in August and raided the entire flats. I got a big phone which I sold for N16, 000,” he confessed.
That was to be his undoing, as IRT operatives who took charge of the case, tracked him down, for the robbery, and also routinely queried him about his telephone conversation with a “prison warden” he threatened.
With this background, the next logical question is, who commissioned the search for hunchback?
In their various depositions during interrogation, the suspects all claimed they were contracted by a shadowy figure, a medical doctor who promised them millions of naira in return for a real hunchback.
The answer could only come from Mukaila Kolawole, popularly known as Baba Beji. It was he who got the contract from a man whom he claims people know as a medical doctor.
The native of Iragbiji in Osun State earned a livelihood as a farmer. He was, however, jailed in the past for the killing of a hunchback. “I was framed,” he said.
He told Saturday Sun the details.
“In 2009, I was a member of Odua Peoples Congress (OPC). One of our members, known as Muritala, misbehaved and was suspended from the group. He got annoyed and formed his own local vigilante group. They were the ones who attacked a nearby village and abducted a woman with hunchback. We were at a meeting the night her mutilated corpse was found. The Muritala-led vigilante group raised alarm that we were the ones responsible for the murder. About ten of us were arrested that day and charged to court for murder. I was released last year after spending nine years.”
It was during those nine years he met Charles Akinbusuyi.
“He was our warden. He normally ‘dash’ us money. We became friends with him. He assured us that anytime names of those to be helped by government was compiled, he’d make sure my name was included.”
He was part of the inmates granted amnesty by the Chief Justice of Osun State in 2018.
Back to the business of September 15, he continued: “When I regained my freedom, I went back to farming but kept in touch with Charles. One day, he called me that he was tired of depending on monthly salary that he wanted a faster way of making money. He asked me if I knew anyone who is into money ritual and I said yes. I introduced him to some of my friends who were herbalists and they suggested to us different ways that we can make quick money. It was while we were at it that I received a call from my longtime customer and asked if I can help him abduct and kill a man or woman with a hunchback. He offered to pay us millions and I told Charles about it and he agreed to be part of it.”
It turned out that Baba Beji who claimed in the beginning of his confession that he knew nothing about hunchback killers, was the person who assembled the best hands to find a hunchback. “Millions were involved and I know that it is not a one-man thing,” he said. “I alerted my herbalist friends that I know and told them about the contract. Everyone started searching until Charles said that he knows of one in a village called Iwara where he normally goes to consult a native doctor.”
According to him, the prison warden planned the abduction. “Charles agreed to hire boys that will abduct the man,” he claimed. “He is a prison warden so he knows a lot of criminals.”
Kolawole took charge of the second part of the mission. “I assembled my fellow herbalists who would help in the killing and removal of the hump. All of us went to the area, and Charles and three other young men that I assumed are professionals, moved into the compound and asked us to wait. In less than 20 minutes, they came out with a man. The young men left and the rest of us entered the vehicle to an agreed place where we intended to slaughter him.”
Kolawole was the one who delivered the killing stroke. “When we got to a deserted area that night, I brought out my spanner, and because I knew what I came there to do, I quickly hit him on the head and he fell down. When I was sure he was dead, I used a knife to cut out the deformed part of his back.”
“We called Niyi, who is an expert in such things, to come and confirm if it was authentic.”
They received a big blow when the expert arrived and proclaimed the hump not useful because it was not a natural hump but a growth.
“We were disappointed. We had no choice but to discard the body and return to Osogbo.”
While he claimed that he had no idea what exactly the hump of a hunchback is used for, Kolawole admitted he knew native doctors use it to produce charm for wealth. “I heard that if you want good money from everywhere, that some people used their (hunchback’s) bones to make bathing soap. This is what I heard, maybe doctor [the one who commissioned the job] will explain better.”
Additional information came from Olasukunmi, popularly known as Ifa, who claimed that he was lured into the crime.
“I am a movie producer and I have successfully produced three movies as far back as 2010. During my spare time, I also do herbalist work which I learnt from my father. I am still working on one of my movies when police arrested me,” he stated.
His connection to the group was Akinbusuiyi, the prison warden.
“I knew Charles in prison when I was arrested by the police during a raid. I didn’t spend much time with them before I was released from prison,” he said.
He was present on the killing ground.
He explained his role: “On the day of the incident, I met them at the express. They asked me to help hold the torch because it was late at night, at about 11:30pm. I held the torch while Baba Beji cut him open. I was not the one who killed him.”
Ifa tried to distance himself from the murder, saying: “I am a herbalist and my stock-in-trade is assisting fraudsters to be successful.”
He explained he got entangled in the plot hunchback plot. “Baba Beji came to me and asked if I knew where we could get a man or woman with a hunchback. I told him to leave me alone as I was not into any money ritual. He called me one day to join him and I asked him what it was. He said that one of his friends who can pay very well wants to see me. I thought he was real till we got to the forest,” he narrated.
He tried desperately to justify his role: “I was scared, that was why I joined him. I know how these things work out ––if I don’t join them, they will kill me.”
Baba Niyi is the expert in the group, the man who could identify the hump of a natural hunchback.
He, too, once spent time in Ilesha prison. He was one of the vigilantes that were jailed alongside Baba Ibeji over the killing of a hunchback.
He, also, knew the man who commissioned the job. “I have known the doctor for many years. He normally asked for herbs. This was why he asked me to go and cross-check. I went there and discovered that it was not real,” he said.
Baba Niyi insisted on his innocence. “I did not follow them to kill anyone,” he submitted.
What became of the body?
They claimed the remains was dumped inside the bush along Osun-Ibadan expressway.
The fugitive prison warden
Charles Adebusuiyi, the prison warden, has since vanished into thin air. His office, Nigerian Correctional Services, confirmed no one has seen him at work since the case broke out. He has been declared wanted by the police.
From others’ confessions, it was he who allegedly contracted the services of the abductors –Emmanuel, Kazeem and another popularly known as MTN – to go to Igangan and abduct the victim. The three abductors, presently on the run, are suspected criminals who were once inmates at the Ilesa correction al center, where Adebusuiyi was a warden until he became a fugitive.
The victim’s family
Saturday Sun spoke with one of the relatives, Olatunji Fasakin, who was at the police station.
“I am his nephew and we live at Igangan-Ijesa, Osun State,” he introduced himself.
According to him, the family had given up hope of finding when they heard that IRT operatives had cracked the case.
He gave his side of the story thus: “On September 15, 2019, around 6 pm, I left to the forest to hunt. At about 8 pm, my wife called me that they have kidnapped my nephew and urged me to hurry back home. Upon my return, I met his mother and grandmother in tears. They told me four men took him away on a motorcycle. I took my motorcycle and drove towards the direction they were heading. When I got to Iwara junction, the persons that I met said that they have left and that some of the villagers who tried to stop them were beaten up. I returned to the village and reported the matter at Igangan police post.”
Although, some community members who heard of his abduction had rightly deduced that he was picked because of his hunched back, the family, nonetheless, had hoped his abductors would, in time, call to demand a ransom.
“But they never did,” he said, “When we couldn’t find him, everyone assumed that he was used for money ritual.”
He explained why his cousin was not a natural hunchback: “He had been sick right from birth, the constant ill-health affected his growth and he was no longer walking properly. Anyone that saw him would assume he had a hunchback. He wasn’t a hunchback.”
On how they got the news of the arrest of his abductors and killers, he said: “A family friend at Ayesan police post informed us that it was IRT Osun that arrested them.”
He said the family is still in mourning, stating, “but now we know what really happened to our brother.”
The family pleaded with the police to help them find his remains so that they can give him a befitting burial.
It’s no surprise to me to read that ritual killings in Nigeria – usually referred to as ‘money rituals’ – are rampant and on the increase. I frequently report on these crimes in Africa’s most populated country. Esther Onyegbula, the author of the article below expresses her disgust while presenting a frightening number of ritualistic murder cases, some of which have been reported earlier on this site.
Her article makes it clear that ritual murders are a plague in Nigeria, in virtually every corner of the country, but notably in the western and eastern states. Moreover, after reading her story, one is convinced that even though in some cases the authorities uphold the rule of law, in many cases the police fail to apprehend the perpetrators of these heinous acts.
Isn’t it time to wage a full-scale war against the criminals who slaughter innocent citizens in order to gain wealth or prestige, and against ignorance, the root cause of all superstition? (webmaster FVDK)
Weird world of money ritualists
Published: February 3, 2020 By: Vanguard Nigeria – Esther Onjegbula
In the last two years, ritual killings have been on the increase.
Although ritual crimes cut across almost all regions in the country, they are more pronounced in western and eastern states of Nigeria.
Every week, there are reports of one ritual killing or the other.
Some suspects are arrested and prosecuted while others arrested are not prosecuted as investigations are marred by lack of evidence or police compromise.
Last month, newspapers were awash with reports of how Favour Daley-Oladele, a final year student of Lagos State University, LASU, who went missing on December 8, 2019, was killed allegedly by her boyfriend, Adeeko Owolabi, who was said to have connived with a self-acclaimed pastor, for ritual purpose in Osun State.
Owolabi and his mother allegedly engaged ‘Pastor’ Segun Philips to end Favour’s life in a gruesome manner. The boyfriend allegedly tricked the victim from Lagos to Ikoyi-Ile, Osun State with the promise that he wanted her to meet his parents to approve their relationship.
But unknown to Favour, she was on her last journey on earth as she was led to the church where her head was smashed with a pestle allegedly by Owolabi and butchered by the ‘pastor’, who later removed her vital parts for money ritual.
Narrating how he killed the victim, Owolabi said, “I lured the deceased to Ikoyi-Ile and lodged her in a hotel before killing her. After I lodged her in a guest house, I took her to a house which I claimed to be my uncle’s house, but knowing that the place was a den of ritualists. “I smashed a pestle on her head and she collapsed. The prophet thereafter used a knife and cutlass to dismember her body which was divided into breasts, head and legs and other vital parts. “We buried the remaining parts of her body beside Prophet Philip’s Church called ‘Solution Salvation Chapel’, while some vital parts were given to my mother to eat for spiritual cleansing”.
Owolabi isn’t the first young man who has been arrested for killing his lover in recent past. In 2018, Seidu Adeyemi killed and buried his girlfriend, Khadijat Oluboyo, the daughter of a former Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Mr Lasisi Oluboyo. Adeyemi murdered Khadijat, a student of Adekunle Ajasin University, after inviting her to his house in July 2018. After the killing, Adeyemi buried the deceased in his room for five days before he was exposed by his father who reported to the police.
At Ologbo, Ikpoba Okha local government area of Edo State in November 2018, a teenager, Akpobome Samuel, allegedly strangled his mother to death and had sex with her corpse for ritual.
According to Samuel, who was paraded by the police, “I acted on the instructions of a witch doctor who I contracted for money ritual. “The voodoo doctor told me that after killing my mother, I should sleep with her corpse in order to get rich. “That is why I complied with his instruction and killed her. “I was caught by my grandmother who came to knock on the door having waited patiently for my mother to accompany her to church. She caught me having sex with my mother. “The native doctor told me to kill my mother and sleep with her corpse, but he did not tell me the number of days to sleep with her. “He told me to keep her dead body inside the room for two days but I was caught when I could no longer keep it.
“I did not know that my grandmother was sitting outside. She opened the door and sighted me on the corpse inside the room and raised the alarm that drew the attention of neighbours. “My mother did not offend me. I killed her because of money”.
Apart from people using their loved ones for ritual, there are instances where innocent persons have been used for ritual purposes by people they didn’t know.
Recently, there was an allegation by some residents of Kwara State that some policemen in Adewole Police Division, Ilorin had been selling suspects detained at the station to ritual killers for N 80, 000 per person. Although the state Commissioner of Police, Lawan Ado, said the allegation was false, the state Police Command redeployed policemen at the station. Ado added that no one had come forward with information to indict any police officer at the station for selling suspects to ritual killers. “But we have been redeploying the policemen there. More than half of them have now been transferred and, soon, the other half will be redeployed so that even if there is anybody who is involved – which no information has established – we will at least remove him from the area.”
But a frightening dimension was recorded in suspected cases of ritual killing in Ilorin last year when commercial motorcycle operators allegedly became targets of alleged ritualists. Motorcyclists were said to have been lured into the Government Reservation Area (GRA) of the town by ritualists posing as passengers only to be mowed down by members of the group.
Apart from the commercial motorcyclists, no fewer than six women were killed by suspected ritualists in the area and their breasts removed.
In July 2019, a young man was caught at Corporation Estate, Mile 12, Lagos after he allegedly murdered a commercial sex worker and removed her private part.
Back to Ondo State, the killing of an 80-year-old woman, Mrs. Kojusola Mogaji, in Arigidi-Akoko, created panic in the community. It incident got so scary so much so that Oba Yisa Olanipekun and the entire community embarked on interdenominational prayers and fasting, traditional rites while a vigilante group was raised to unravel ritual killings in the area.
Even the dead are not spared
It is not only the living that are gruesomely murdered and body parts harvested for ritual; the dead are also not allowed to rest in their graves as suspected ritual killers and skull miners exhume remains of dead people which are prepared for ritual.
Three young men, who were arrested by the Oyo State Police Command for being in possession of fresh human parts, confessed that their unbridled desires to get rich quick prompted them to get the body parts for money ritual.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abiodun Odude, said the suspects were arrested after a tip-off by a member of the public. Odude added that the suspects confessed to have removed the body parts from corpses at a Muslim cemetery in Isale General Area of Ogbomoso.
One of the suspects claimed this was his first attempt at using human parts for money ritual.
Another said: “We went to Isale General at Ogbomoso to exhume the bodies at about 8p.m. On our way back, two inquisitive boys, who accosted us on the road, demanded to know where the offensive odour was from. “We tried to deceive them, but they were insistent. So we had to run. They caught one of us before the police arrested us at our homes. “We wanted to use the parts for money ritual. If we had succeeded in taking the corpses to our place, we would have dried and burnt them. “After burning the parts, we will grind the same to powdery substance and mix some of it with soap to take our bath in the morning and to take pap at night. “After we would have done this, some weird creatures, who we generally call demons, will bring money to us — usually at night.”
In another case reported in November 2019, a cemetery vault builder, Kazim Olarewaju, who worked at Okesuna Cemetery, Adeniji Adele area of Lagos island, revealed that he sold two human skulls for N12, 000. Olarewaju, who was arrested by policemen attached to Adeniji Adele Division, alongside two other suspects, Muritala Salami and Amidu Kazeem, explained that this was the second time he was trading in human parts.
Narrating how he got involved in the act, Olarenwaju said, “I work at Okesuna Cemetery. In September, Mr Muritala Salami and his relatives came to the cemetery to bury a relative. “After the burial, he said I should help him to get a biscuit. I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about. He said it was a human skull. “I told him immediately I couldn’t. He collected my telephone number and left but continued to call me till I bulged. “Initially, I asked him to come to the cemetery and take it himself. When he came, I helped him to take the bag outside the cemetery gate so that security guards won’t suspect anything. “The first time he paid me 12,000 for two skulls. “Last week he called me again and I told him to steer clear but he kept threatening me till I agreed to help him get two more human skulls. “It was while I was taking delivery of his order that I was arrested by the police.” Explaining further, Kasim said, “I started working at the cemetery two years ago and I have never been involved in a thing like this before I met Muritala”.
Explaining what he was doing with human skulls, Salami, who said he was a dealer in herbal preparation, said he used them to make charms to enable him get more clients. “I grind the dried human skulls, mix it with pepper and take it with local gin first thing in the morning. Before I began to do this, I was making about N30, 000 daily but afterwards I began to make between N80,000 and N100,000”
Confirming the arrest, spokesperson for Lagos State Police Command, DSP Bala Elkana, said the investigation was ongoing and that the suspects will be charged to court.
From the foregoing, it would appear that native doctors, fake pastors, Muslim clerics and cemetery workers usually work with suspects in the business of ritual killing.
Worried by the spate of ritual killings and bodies’ exhumation from graveyards, then-Assistant Inspector General of Police in Charge of Zone 2, AIG Lawal Shehu, declared war on native doctors and human parts’ dealers in Lagos and Ogun states. Shehu said each time suspects were apprehended, they usually claimed they were herbalists, adding that some native doctors were aiding and abating the practice. He made the declaration after four suspects, identified as Lukmon Bayewunmi, Kabir Badmus, Victor Nnacheta and Nurudeen Sogaolu, were arrested with dried human jaw and scalp.
Compromise
Meanwhile, the police have been accused of compromise on some cases of ritual killing.
For instance during the tenure of CP Imohimi Edgal as Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, precisely in August 2018, two suspected ritualists, Folake Falade and Emmanuel Gbenga were arrested under the Cele Nicer Bridge, Ijanikin, by the police.
Folake, who was almost lynched by an irate mob, said she had been there (Cele Nicer Bridge) for nine years and that her business was to sell human parts to ready buyers. She said her customers usually parked on the bridge at night with their vehicles bonnets opened, pretending that their vehicles had one fault or the other, but unknown to people that they were waiting to buy human parts. According to her, her boys would be beneath the vehicles pretending to be carrying out repairs to douse any suspicion and, in the process, hand over nylon bags containing human parts to the clients.
A resident, Lawrence Oke, claimed that Folake revealed that “whenever she failed to find preys to meet the demands of clients, she would dress seductively and head to a nearby hotel at night”. Oke went on, “Any man that picked her for the night would become prey as he would end up in her den where his body parts would be harvested and sold off to waiting clients.”
The resident further narrated that Folake confessed that she had boys that worked for her.
He added, “She said that once her hands touched someone, that person would lose his senses and follow her sheepishly.”
However, despite what many believed was compelling evidence against the suspect and initial police stand, nothing was heard about the case after the arrest.
Meanwhile, the belief that invoking spirits or demons can bring cash after performing some rituals obviously is what is fuelling ritual killings in parts of the country.
Sunday Vanguard spoke to some of those who should know in this special report.
Nigerian and other newspapers continue to publish articles, editorial comments and reactions of readers after the gruesome murder of Favour Daley Oladele for money ritual purposes. It is virtually impossible to ‘copy-paste’ all publications. Hence, with the risk that within a few months the links leading to these publications will have expired, I again (only) list the articles here, when and where published, accompanied by a link. After today I will stop – at least for the time being – to draw attention to this ritual murder and will switch to other African countries where unfortunately similar atrocities take place. I will continue to plead for the rule of law, for the prosecution of perpetrators and suspects, and for the eradication of these heinous crimes based on superstition, greed and impunity (webmaster FVDK).
The deceased (above) and the suspects
Mystical money Published: January 13, 2020 By: The Nation – Femi Macauly
More Nigerian and international newspaper articles on the ritualistic killing of Favour Daley-Oladele by her boyfriend. The LASU student had been reported missing on December 8, 2019. Her boyfriend, Owolabi Adeeko, killed and dismembered her for ‘money rituals’, aided by his mother, Mrs. Adeeko, and a pastor of a white garment church, Segun Philip. The victim was killed and her heart used to prepare pepper soup for Owolabi and his mother. Philip was paid N210,000 for the money making ritual (webmaster FVDK).
The victim, Favour Dailey-Oladele (above), and the suspects. Segun Philips, Owolabi Adeeko and his mother, Mrs. Adeeko.
Following the murder of LASU student Favour Daley-Oladele for ritual purposes – a practice often referred to a as ‘money ritual’ in Nigeria – a wave of articles and comments appeared in local and international newspapers and magazines. Much too much to include here – although I find it important to at least mention the publication of a number of these valuable sources of information.
As a reminder: in December 2019, Favour Daley-Oladele, a final year student of Lagos State University (LASU), was murdered and partly cannibalized for a ritualistic motive, a ‘money ritual’, allegedly by her boyfriend Adeeko Owolabi, aided by Segun Philip, a white garment church pastor and his mother, Mrs. Bola Adeeko.
Favour and her parents lived in Mowe, Ogun State, but she was allegedly killed in Osun State. Also see my posts dated January 6, 4, 3, and 2 of the current year.
For practical purposes I present here only the links and thus not the full contents of a number of recent publications on Favour Daley-Oladele’s untimely and gruesome death, thus accepting the risk that within a few months or years some of these publications will have disappeared from the internet. It is important to mention that losing the accessibility of these links constitutes a risk which is the main reasons for choosing for this site the methodology to copy-paste news on ritual murders in African countries – a maybe controversial approach which I though am able and willing to defend, in case needed.
From time to time, as more news emerges, I will update the contents below (webmaster FVDK).
The deceased (above) and the suspects.
Wretched riches Published: January 6, 2020 By: The Sun, Voice of the nation
Segun Philip, a white garment church pastor; Adeeko Owolabi, the boyfriend of slain Lagos State University (LASU) student Miss Favour Daley-Oladele; and his mother, Mrs. Bola Adeeko, will be handed over to the Osun Police Command for prosecution.
Ogun Police Command spokesman Abimbola Oyeyemi disclosed this to The Nation yesterday.
He said although Favour and her parents lived in Mowe, Ogun State, she was allegedly killed in Osun State.
Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said that the detectives handling the case would investigate to find out if the suspects had carried out a similar action in the past.
He said that upon conclusion of the investigations, the command would transfer the suspects to the police in Osun State, who would prosecute them.
Twenty-three-year-old Adeeko Owolabi allegedly lured Miss Favour Daley-Oladele, 22, to a far-away white garment church in Ikoyi-Ile, Osun State, where he allegedly brutally murdered the girl while she was asleep by using a pestle to crush her head. He, thereafter, removed her heart for a ‘get-rich-quick’ money making concoction.
He was allegedly assisted in the act by a self-acclaimed pastor of a white garment church in Ikoyi-Ile, Segun Philip, who slit the girl’s throat, removed her heart, breasts and other organs before feeding Owolabi and his mother with a delicacy prepared with Favour’s vital organs.
The grieving father of the deceased, Mr. Daley-Oladele, said he couldn’t believe that a daughter, who was born into the family after years of delayed birth, would just be brutally killed by someone she knew.
He described his daughter as “the golden girl of the family,” saying losing her a few months to her graduation was emotionally unbearable.
Daley-Oladele said: “It’s quite emotional having raised that girl for that number of years. Favour happened to be a golden girl to the family. We waited for some years before having her.
“And having done that she went to school and when one is envisaging that within the next few years she would be going for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and one starts celebrating that one has a graduate in one’s home, a woman; some people conspired to kill her.
“What she actually told us that day was that she was returning to school to prepare for her final examination. She said she was going to join her group and it was in that process that somebody called her. And she said she would also be going to see a friend. That was all.
“All we want is justice for Favour. It will act as a deterrent to others.”
LASU students have resolved to mobilise to attend the court proceedings on the gruesome murder of their colleague, Favour.
The President of the Students’ Union, Oladele Oluwatayo, who spoke to The Nation on the phone yesterday, said that the decision was arrived at during a short meeting after the candlelight procession on Monday.
He said that was the only way they could identify with Favour, even in death, while also ensuring justice was done.
More details on the murder of LASU final year female student Favour Daley-Oladele who was murdered for a money ritual by her boyfriend. See my January 2 post. Warning: this article includes graphic contents. (webmaster FVDK).
Men of of Nigerian police have exhumed the body of Favour Daley-Oladele
The LASU student was murdered by her boyfriend for ritual purpose
When the remains was exhumed, the head, the two breasts, neck and part of the two legs were no longer there
Osun homicide police detectives have exhumed the body of Favour Daley-Oladele, the murdered final year Sociology student of Lagos State University (LASU) who was gruesomely murdered for money rituals at Ikoyi-Ile in Osun. The victim’s dismembered body was was exhumed from a dry shallow well at Ikoyi-Ile. NAN reports that Babatunde Kokumo, Osun commissioner of police, led detectives from the Homicide Section of the command during the exhumation operation.
When the remains was exhumed, the head, the two breasts, neck and part of the two legs were no longer there. NAN recalls that the deceased was allegedly killed by a prophet, Segun Philip, 42, and her boyfriend, Adeeko Owolabi, 22, in Ikoyi-Ile, Osun, on Dec. 8, for money rituals. Owolabi’s mother, Ruth was also said to have played a role in the dastardly act.
Owolabi, also a graduate of LASU, told newsmen during operation that he conspired with the prophet to murder her girlfriend for money rituals. According to him, he lured the deceased to Ikoyi-Ile and lodged her in an hotel before killing her. “After I lodged her in a guest house, I took her to a house which I claimed to be my uncle’s house, knowing fully well that the place was a ritualists den. ” I smashed a pestle on her head and she collapsed. “The prophet thereafter used a knife and cutlass to dismember her body which was divided into three parts breasts, head and legs with other vital parts. “We buried the remaining part of her body beside Prophet Philip’s Church called ‘Solution Salvation Chapel’, while some vital parts was given to my mother to eat for spiritual cleansing,” he said.
Also speaking with newsmen, Segun Philip, who claimed to be a prophet in Solution Salvation Chapel, said the deceased was murdered to make money rituals for Owolabi.
“I am not a prophet but a herbalist who engages in spiritual cleansing for whosoever come to my place. “I used the Solution Salvation Chapel as a cover up not to allow people know the true picture of who I am and what I do. “Owolabi came to my place for money rituals and I told him that we need a complete human being for the rituals. “And on December 8, he brought his girlfriend to my church and we killed her and as well dismembered her body part for money rituals.”
Owolabi’s mother, Ruth, who also spoke with newsmen said she was not aware that the concoction given to her to eat and the cream was made of human part. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that students of LASU held candlelight procession on Monday, December 29, in honour of their colleague, Favour Sewanu Daley-Oladele.
Police Exhume Corpse Of Female LASU Student Allegedly Killed For Money Ritual By Boyfriend
From left: Police forensic experts, Pastor Segun Phillip of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Solution Chapel, Ikoyi-Ile pointing at the spot where Favour Daley-Oladele was buried while Owolabi Adeeko and her mother looks on
It was a gory scene on Saturday in Ikoyi-Ile community of Isokan Local Government Area of Osun State, when policemen exhumed the decomposing corpse of a female Lagos State University student, Favour Daley-Oladele, allegedly killed by her boyfriend, Owolabi Adeeko, for money ritual.
The Police team that went to the church where the lady was buried in a shallow grave was led by the Commissioner of Police in Osun State, Babatunde Kokumo, who explained that the exhumation of the remains of the 23-year-old student would enhance the completion of investigation started by the Ogun State Police command.
He, however, assured the people that the Police would look into the fear raised over the number of churches in Ikoyi-Ile, just as he tasked parents to strike a balance between moral upbringing and the academic programme of their children.
The Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Solution Chapel Ikoyi-Ile, Osun State
Kokumo said, “we are all aware of the gruesome killing of a student of LASU. The killing has been traced to Ikoyi -Ile. In furtherance of the investigation started by the Ogun State command. We have brought our homicide experts to exhume and help in the furtherance of the investigations started by the Ogun State police command with a view to prosecuting the suspects.
“It is a gruesome murder and the whole thing is quite horrible. We will not fold our arms and watch lawless citizens take laws into their hands, destroying peoples lives.
“We have been informed that we have a number of churches in this community. It is our responsibility to conduct our investigation. What we are doing is intelligence policing driven by the people’s need. If the community are making us know that they are no longer comfortable with the number of churches in the community or the calibre of such people running the churches then it becomes our responsibility to conduct an investigation on their activities and check them.
“My advice is that parents have a lot of roles to play. We have a lot of children in schools, the parents owe them the responsibility to let them know that apart from their academic pursuit they must see to their moral training. It is only when the two are well combined that you can have a complete human being. They should see to the peer group they belong,” Kokumo remarked.
It is recalled that Owolabi Adeeko had in December 2019 lured Favour Daley-Oladele to a church in Ikoyi-Ile, where she was brutally murdered. Her heart, breast and other vital organs were removed to prepare a concoction by Pastor Segun Phillip of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Solution Chapel. The concoction was reportedly eaten by Adeeko and his mother. The trio has since been arrested by policemen.
“We have been informed that we have a number of churches in this community. It is our responsibility to conduct our investigation. What we are doing is intelligence policing driven by the people’s need. If the community are making us know that they are no longer comfortable with the number of churches in the community or the calibre of such people running the churches then it becomes our responsibility to conduct an investigation on their activities and check them.
“My advice is that parents have a lot of roles to play. We have a lot of children in schools, the parents owe them the responsibility to let them know that apart from their academic pursuit they must see to their moral training. It is only when the two are well combined that you can have a complete human being. They should see to the peer group they belong,” Kokumo remarked.
It is recalled that Owolabi Adeeko had in December 2019 lured Favour Daley-Oladele to a church in Ikoyi-Ile, where she was brutally murdered. Her heart, breast and other vital organs were removed to prepare a concoction by Pastor Segun Phillip of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Solution Chapel. The concoction was reportedly eaten by Adeeko and his mother. The trio has since been arrested by policemen.
The Cherubim and Seraphim Unification Church of Nigeria, the umbrella body of C and S churches worldwide has denied media reports that one “Prophet” Segun Philips who was accused of killing one Miss Favour Daley for ritual purposes is a member of the church.
DAILY POST had reported that the Ogun State Police Command arrested a 23-year-old man, Adeeko Owolabi, for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Favour Daley-Oladele – a final-year Sociology student of Lagos State University, LASU.
But, the Church in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Apostle M. O. Adeyemi said there is no record where Segun Philips is associated with the C & S and officers of the church in Irewole/Isokan Local Government Area of Osun State where he committed the heinous crime.
The church denied knowledge of Segun Philips as a member of the Holy Order.
Adeyemi in a statement made available to DAILY POST on Tuesday said, “We have contacted all our officers in the Zone and they said they did not know him or his church. Besides, our Youth Fellowship went as far as locating his church and came with the reports (including photographs) of not seeing any signpost or imprint of C & S in his place of worship.
“We wonder why the Press hurriedly tagged him a “C & S Prophet”. We are not unmindful of the fact that many charlatans hide under the Freedom of Association as guaranteed by the Nigerian constitution to set up places of worship for different purposes. Some of them adopt white garments and mimick our mode of worship even when they are not registered or under the episcopal authourity of the leadership of the C & S.
“We appeal to the members of the Press to always ascertain the true identity of some fake Pastors and Prophets wearing white garments to deceive unsuspecting members of the public for pecuniary gains.
“It is rather unfortunate that anybody calling himself a Christian could be that devilish and kill a fellow human being for money-making ritual. The C & S Church is a Bible-believing Church that strongly believes in the sacredness of the blood of Jesus and frowns at any blood-letting rituals. ”
“The C & S Unification Church of Nigeria strongly condemns the act and urged the law enforcement officers to fish out the ilks of Philips before killing more unsuspecting Nigerians.
“The Church also commiserate with the family of the young undergraduate and the entire Lagos State University (LASU) community”.
Man in police net for killing girlfriend for rituals Published: December 29, 2019 By: Ishola Oludare
The police in Ogun State have arrested a 23-year-old man, Adeeko Owolabi, for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Favour Daley-Oladele – a final-year Sociology student of Lagos State University, LASU.
The suspect, police said, was arrested together with a 42-year-old self acclaimed Pastor of a white garment church, Segun Philip, who, it was learnt, requested for the deceased’s heart.
The deceased was reported to have left home to an unknown destination since December 8, 2019 and has not been seen since then, hence, she was reported missing by her parents at Mowe Police Station.
In a statement on Sunday, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, explained that, upon the report, the DPO Mowe division, SP Marvis Jayeola detailed his crack detectives to unravel the mystery behind the sudden disappearance of the 22 year old girl.
Oyeyemi disclosed that, “the detectives went into full scale technical and forensic investigation of the case and their efforts paid off, when the movement of the deceased was traced to a white garment church in far away Ikoyi-Ile in Osun State, being pastored by one Segun Philip.”
The PPRO explained that, “on getting to the church, the self-acclaimed pastor was promptly arrested, but he was quick to inform the detectives that the girl was brought to him by her boyfriend, Adeeko Owolabi, who was still within the vicinity of the church.
“The said boyfriend was traced and apprehended immediately.
“On interrogation, Adeeko Owolabi confessed to the police that the deceased was his girlfriend and that he lured her to Ikoyi-Ile where he had perfected plans with the so-called pastor Segun Philip to use her for money making ritual.
“He stated further that while the girl was sleeping, the pastor gave him a pestle with which he used to smash the head of the girl and the pastor quickly used a knife to cut off her neck, ripped-opened her chest and removed her heart, which he used in preparing a concoction for him and his mother to eat.
“When asked what pushed him to such devilish act, Owolabi explained that he decided to go into money ritual because things are not going well with his parents economically most especially his mother who used to be the breadwinner of the family.
“He added that when he sought for assistance from the pastor, he was asked to bring a human being for that purpose and the available person at that time was his girlfriend.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Kenneth Ebrimson, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to the Homicide Section of the State criminal investigation and intelligence department for proper investigation.
The CP, who described the gruesome murder of the deceased as superlative degree of wickedness, vowed to ensure that all the suspects faced the full wrath of the law.
A large number of students of the Lagos State University (LASU) came out on Monday for the candlelight in honour of their slain colleague, Favour Sewanu Daley-Oladele.
A large number of students of the Lagos State University (LASU) came out on Monday for the candlelight in honour of their slain colleague, Favour Sewanu Daley-Oladele.
The 22-year-old final year student was lured by his 23-year-old boyfriend, Adeeko Owolabi to a Cherubim & Seraphim Church at Ikoyi-Ile in Osun State where she was murdered and part of her organs were removed for a ‘get-rich-quick’ money-making concoction.
A LASU student, Dele Alli had earlier urged fellow students via his twitter handle to turn out for the candlelight.
Also, a hashtag, #justiceForFavour has been created to seek justice for the slain thespian.
The mourning students, decked in black attires, converged on the Department of Theatre Arts and Music to honour their departed colleague.
From there, they moved round the campus, singing in a dirge.
Some of them were in tears.
They called on LASU authorities and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as well as Inspector-General of Police to ensure speedy trial of the perpetrators.
While that was ongoing, other students and social media users took to Twitter to condemn the act.
They warned the government not to sweep the matter under the carpet.
Ponle Olafimihan said: “Now the perpetrators are boasting that they’ll soon be released by the police. These cannibals shouldn’t go unpunished.”
OMO BABA said a case like this should be dealt with seriously.
“How can you murder a human being like you in cold blood,” he wondered.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Southwest (Zone D) promised to follow the matter to a logical conclusion and “update the general public on our actions and findings in due time.”
A tweet by its Coordinator, Comrade Kappo Samuel Olawale said an injury to one is an injury to all!
“We will not keep quiet in this case of pure cruelty. The culprits must be brought to book and made to face the wrath of the law. We will stand till the very end to ensure justice is gotten for Favour,” Olawale said.
Ganiu Oloruntade said the gruesome murder of this young lady must not be swept under the carpet.
Modupe Ademola pleaded with you all LASU management and Governor Sanwo-Olu to ensure justice for Favour takes place.
A group, LASU PRs & Influencers said: “The federation who understands the importance of life and justice should use their position to demand justice for Favour. Favour was said to be pregnant at the time of this incident. Please Let’s fight for #JusticeForFavour and spread the news.”
Gracie’s Goddess said she and the late Miss Daley-Oladele wrote senior West African Examination Council (WAEC) in the same school.
“Favour when I saw it, I didn’t believe it was you till I saw your name we wrote senior WAEC in the same secondary school. I just pray those individuals involved get punished,” she wrote on Twitter.
A social media influencer @RUCCIFIED wrote: “This life is already sad and hard; why then make it sadder and harder for another family at this time?
“How much fearless could one be that gives you gut to behead a fellow human, disembark the body parts, beat to a mortal and then feed on it?
“We truly hope that the @LASUOfficial together with the @lagosstategov and other states and federal law agencies against brutality and evil practices as such above would lend a voice and take action to ensure that the culprits are brought to book.”
Map of Lagos State showing the 20 Local Government Areas
It’s not the first time that the Oluwo of Iwoland, Abdulrasheed Akanbi, speaks out against ritualistic murders (see my May 21 and August 11, 2019 postings) and it won’t be the last time either. He is courageous to raise his voice against this practice, which is based on superstition, greed, ignorance AND the absence of the rule of law. Governments must act: governments are obliged to protect their citizens and to uphold the law, to punish perpetrators of heinous crimes such as ritualistic killings, known as ‘money rituals’ in Nigeria.
Traditional leaders have a responsibility too. On previous occasions, the Oluwo of Iwoland, Abdulrasheed Akanbi, has even accused his fellow traditional rulers of complicity, of being involved in ritualistic killings in their domains (see my May 11, 2019 posting). True or not true, failing to address the issue and educate their people, traditional rulers may be reproached to be responsible – to a certain extent – of the atrocities committed (webmaster FVDK).
The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi
Published: August 20, 2019 By: Brendan Umoren – Today (Nigeria)
Oluwo of Iwoland, HIM Oba (Dr.) Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, has declared readiness to lead a national protest against ritual killings and corruption in the country.
He lamented the impotency of government at tackling ritual menace, stating that ritual killing is prevalence but deadlier than kidnapping.
Oluwo stated protection of lives is the primary responsibility of the government, noting such can be credited until ritual killings is checkmated by the present administration.
He equally vowed to declare an open protest against corruption characterising public officials in Nigeria.
Oluwo decry daily loss of innocent lives to ritual killings, saying it is an aberration to culture and highest denial of right to life.
According to a statement by the monarch’s press secretary, Alli Ibraheem, Oluwo called for enactment of strict penal system against human ritualists and corrupt individual to safeguard human and protect their lives.
“It is saddens no attention is paid by the federal government to prevalence ritual killings pervading our country. Thousands fall victim of ritual on daily basis but regrettably, no one condemns such. I’m not happy with the neglect of my outcry on daily killings of my sons and daughters by ritualists. These people are deadlier than Bokoharam and kidnappers. I will lead thousands of Nigerians with like minds on national protest against human ritualists and corrupt individual.
“Right now, as I’m talking, evil men are somewhere killing human for rituals in the name of money and promotion. Few relate offering human for sacrifice as culture, no, it is an aberration to every culture. No culture accepts human as sacrifice ” he said.
Oluwo added that “I’m appealing to federal government to declare war against ritual killings. Strict penalty like death should be meted on any one culpable. Killers should be killed. Killing is not a forgivable offence. If federal government refuse, I will declare an open traditional war against ritualists and front a national protest.
“The Afeniferes, OPCs, Agbekoyas and other pan Yoruba cultural groups should join the revolution against ritual killings. Many gave gone to the journey of no return in the hands of ritual killers. It is pathetic, sad and calls for urgent legislation. Ritual killing is decimating our population daily. Must we continue watching the menace? Those in the government are not seeing what we see. Ritual murders is prevalent on the south west, south east. We must rise before it claim all out promising sons and daughters.
“I want to state it clearly here that killing human for rituals is not Yoruba culture. It is alien to our culture. Yoruba culture is pure, clean and attractive. Look at my dress, it is enticing, fascinating, ostentatious and attractive. Only the ignorance and enemies of Yoruba culture will relate ritual killings to Yoruba culture.”
Oluwo said declaring emergency war against ritual killings is acute to secure human lives.
Related article: I’ll lead protest against ritual killings, corruption – Oluwo
Published: August 21, 2019 By: Hameed Oyegbade, Osogbo
The Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, on Tuesday said he would lead a national protest against ritual killings and corruption.
Oluwo, in a statement by his press secretary, Alli Ibrahim, alleged government’s inability to tackle ritual killings which, according to him, are deadlier than kidnapping. The first-class traditional ruler decried daily loss of lives to ritual killings, describing it as “an aberration to culture and highest denial of right to life.”
Oluwo advocated death penalty for ritualists and corrupt individuals.
He stated: “Thousands fall victim of rituals on a daily basis, but regrettably, no one condemns such. I’m not happy with the neglect of my outcry on daily killings of my sons and daughters by ritualists. Right now as I’m talking, evil men are somewhere killing humans for rituals in the name of money and promotion. No culture accepts human beings as sacrifice. “Killers should be killed. Killing is not a forgivable offence. If the federal government refuses, I’ll declare an open traditional war against ritualists and front a national protest. “Those in the government are not seeing what we see. Ritual killings are prevalent in the southwest and southeast. I want to state it clearly here that killing humans for rituals is not Yoruba culture. It is alien to our culture. Yoruba culture is pure, clean and attractive.”
