Taming the Prevalence of Ritual Killing among Nigerian Youths

Alarm bells are ringing in Nigeria as ritual murders by Nigerian youths escalate, following the shocking arrest of 29-year-old Ogunnaike Philip for allegedly slaughtering at least three innocent girls, including an 18-year-old in Ogun State. While unravelling the root causes, Sunday Ehigiator, whoinvestigated this disturbing trend, reports that there is need for swift action from appropriate stakeholders to halt the needless bloodshed

On September 2024, a 16-year-old teenager, Azeez Tajudeen, who lives in the Ijanikin area in Lagos, lured a four-year-old child, named Ibrahim to a nearby primary school, stabbed and strangled the child to death.

According to the suspect’s confession, he removed the victim’s intestines, kidneys, and private organs for a man named Osho, who asked him to get him some human parts and promised to pay him N50,000 for the service.

The scourge

The scourge of ritual murders is spreading alarmingly across Nigeria, with a disturbing twist of young people, increasingly involved. What was once considered the domain of hardened criminals has now become a haunting reality among teenagers and young adults, including secondary school students, who in a haste to ‘get-rich-quickly’, run with the belief that money ritual involving human sacrifices is a thing.

These heinous crimes are often orchestrated by acquaintances who betray their victims’ trust, setting them up for brutal mutilation in pursuit of wealth through ritual practices.

The allure of quick riches and nighttime revelries has created a fertile ground for ritual murderers and their accomplices to exploit vulnerable youth. Naive and impressionable, many young people are enticed by promises of easy wealth, only to find themselves in mortal danger.

This trend, which has advanced beyond what was initially known as ‘Yahoo-Yahoo’, before it metamorphosed into ‘Yahoo-Plus’ is deeply troubling, highlighting the erosion of moral values and the desperation among Nigeria’s youth.

More chilling is the ease with which young lives, including children, are being destroyed under a faulty belief and the copycat effect of this trend among young boys and adults, calling for a more holistic and urgent action to address the root causes of this menace.

Chronicle of Cases 

On September 2024, Tragedy struck in Kogi State, when four young men were arrested for the brutal murder of 17-year-old Damilola Olowoyo, a 100-level undergraduate at the Federal University, Lokoja.

The primary suspect, Jeremiah Awe, allegedly drugged and lured Damilola to a secluded area near his lodge, where he killed her for ritual purposes ¹. In a shocking twist, Awe deceived Damilola’s parents, claiming their daughter had been kidnapped, and demanded ransom to fund the ritual.

Investigations revealed that Awe met the native doctor on the social media platform TikTok, highlighting the disturbing role of technology in facilitating such heinous crimes.

Three others – Barnabas Olugbenga, 20, Ajani Ayomide, 20, and Emmanuel Otitoju, 24 – were implicated in the crime, according to William Aya, the Kogi State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer.

In a separate incident, 21-year-old Mojisola Awesu, a graduate of the Kwara State College of Health Technology, Offa, was tricked into attending a party in Ilorin, only to be brutally murdered. She had been paid N15,000 for her attendance. Four men are currently standing trial for her murder.

During the same period, it was reported that a middle-aged man called Alfa Ahmed slaughtered his visually impaired grandfather, and ill uncle for an alleged money ritual in Ibadan, Oyo State.

In 2023, a 20-year-old man named Ridwan killed his father for rituals in Oshoku village, Ijebu North Local Government Area in Ogun State.

In 2021, the Rivers State Police Command apprehended Kenneth Sylvanus, 24-year-old; Chibuzor Amadi, 33-year-old, and Chijioke Ogbonna, 37-year-old, for beheading a nine-year-old child.

In Edo State, on Christmas Eve in 2021, a 29-year-old teacher, Elohor Oniorosa, was reportedly murdered and dismembered by her boyfriend, David Osaretin, a truck driver, for suspected money ritual purposes.

Similarly, Favour Daley-Oladele was gruesomely killed and mutilated by her boyfriend, with the aid of a prophet, in an attempted ritual to acquire wealth in 2019.

Women as Endangered Species

Women, especially young girls, are increasingly being targets of ritual murders, due to societal vulnerabilities and harmful gender stereotypes.

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. These tracked incidents occurred in 43 women, and 30 children in 80 cases across 20 states.

Women are more vulnerable to ritual killings due to factors like poverty, lack of education, and social isolation. There are countless cases of women killed by their supposed boyfriends for ritual purposes.

In 2019, a 22-year-old woman, Favour Daley-Oladele, was killed by her boyfriend, Owolabi Adeyemi, for ritual purposes in Ogun State. In 2022, another 22-year-old lady, Oluwabamise Ayanwole, was killed by a BRT driver, Andrew Ominnikoron, for suspected ritual purposes in Lagos State.

In 2020, 20-year-old Sofiat Kehinde was killed by her boyfriend, Sadiq Owolabi, for ritual purposes in Oyo State. In 2017, 21-year-old Olayinka was killed by her boyfriend, Abdulkareem Yakubu, for ritual purposes in Kwara State.

In 2021, 29-year-old Elohor Oniorosa was killed by her boyfriend, David Osaretin, for ritual purposes in Edo State. In 2019, Jennifer Anthony, a 20-year-old woman, was also killed by her boyfriend, Gabriel Idibia, for ritual purposes in Benue State.

The same fate befell Joy Meyer in 2018, as the 27-year-old woman was killed by her boyfriend, Tope Alade, for ritual purposes in Lagos State.

The country’s patriarchal society often views women as commodities, making them susceptible to exploitation. Additionally, inadequate law enforcement and judicial systems fail to protect women and hold perpetrators accountable.

Nigerian states like Ogun, Oyo, and Rivers have witnessed alarming rates of ritual killings, with women and girls as primary targets.

The perpetrators often believe that female body parts possess mystical powers, further fueling these atrocities. Cases like the Otokoto saga and Ikorodu ritual killings highlight the brutality and scale of these crimes.

The physical and emotional trauma inflicted upon survivors of ritual killings and their families in Nigeria cannot be overstated.

Women who manage to escape or are rescued often suffer long-term psychological damage, stigma, and social exclusion. Moreover, the loss of loved ones to ritual killings has a ripple effect, impacting entire communities.

Expert Opinion

Speaking with THISDAY, the Director of the Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW), Leo Igwe noted that, “The Advocacy for Alleged Witches is outraged over the gruesome instances of ritual attacks and bloodletting in the country.

“AfAW is aware of another case of ritual murder of a girl by the supposed boyfriend in another part of the country. These cases of ritual attack and killing are a clear demonstration of moral and educational failures.

“Skeptically oriented Nigerians must rise to the challenge of reorienting the public and promoting reason and scientific thinking.

“At a time when Nigeria is going through an unprecedented economic crisis that has led to multidimensional poverty, stress and distress, despair, hunger, and uncertainties, one expects an increase in cases of ritual attacks.

“Many people are vulnerable; they could easily be lured to engage in ritual sacrifice and to explore purported ritual means of making money.

“More people are likely to embrace ritual money-making narratives or consult ritualists for some help. Ritualists and other self-acclaimed occultists will tell seekers of ritual money to go in search of human body parts.

“As in this case, those who cannot get the human parts would commission others on their behalf. Some people are inclined to accept such assignments and undertake to attack and murder others in the quest to make some income.

“The Advocacy for Alleged Witches warns the public to be vigilant at this time and to resist any temptation to indulge in money-making rituals or to go in search of human body parts.

“It is a fact that people attack and murder others for ritual purposes. It is a fact that people procure human body parts for rituals. It is a fact that people indulge in some money ritual sacrifice of human body parts.

“However, there is no evidence that these sacrifices yield money or wealth as popularly believed and often portrayed in movies such as Nollywood films. Ritual money or wealth is fiction and has no basis in reason, science or reality. There is an urgent need to reeducate and reorient children and youths in the country.

“Superstition is destroying the moral fibre of our society. And it is the responsibility of this generation of Nigerians and Africans to end ritual attacks and sacrifice. Young people are often the victims and the perpetrators because they are socialised to believe that ritual money is real.

“Unfortunately, it is not. At home and in schools, children and youths are taught and told about the ritual processes of achieving success. They are made to think that ritual wealth is a fact.

“Hence, some youths are motivated to indulge in vicious attacks and murder other human beings, including their parents and relatives. Nigerian authorities need to encourage critical thinking in schools and society.

“They should get students to question and examine ritual money narratives and associated superstitions. Nigeria needs to execute an intense public education and enlightenment campaign and get the public to abandon ritual money beliefs and embrace critical thinking and science-based means of making money and acquiring wealth.”

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There is no evidence that these sacrifices yield money or wealth as popularly believed and often portrayed in movies such as Nollywood films. Ritual money or wealth is fiction and has no basis in reason, science or reality. There is an urgent need to reeducate and reorient children and youths in the country