Yesterday’s post was about an editorial of a leading Nigerian newspaper, the Nigerian Tribune, calling for immediate government action to stop and eradicate all criminal activities related to ‘money rituals’ – as illegal and inhumane ritualistic practices for personal gains are referred to in Nigeria. Today more on the same topic, underscoring the editorial appeal for a more rigorous enforcement of the rule of law in Nigeria, with more than 225 million people Africa’s most populated country.
Before leaving this space and allowing you to read the Leadership article presented below on the surge in ritual killings in Ondo State, I wish to draw draw your attention to the fact that in my opinion the claim in the article that in the past Ondo State was spared the evil of ‘money business’ related ritualistic killings is incorrect – as is amply demonstrated by the numerous cases of ritual murders and related attempts in this southern Nigerian state which I reported on the present site.
Notwithstanding the foregoing I wish to express my sincere gratefulness to the author and staff of the online Leadership newspaper for paying attention to the social evil which constitute ‘money rituals’ and the importance of stopping and eradicating these criminal activities which have no place in the 21st century. Ritual killings must stop! (FVDK)
A Surge In Ritual Killings Worries Ondo State Residents
Published: June 19, 2024 By: Tope Fayehun – Leadership, Nigeria
Reported cases of ritual killings have surged in Ondo State, a state that was previously not known for such gory acts. For months now, law enforcement agencies have arrested many suspects of ritual killings with gory pictures of human skulls, intestines and dismembered bodies. Most of the suspects are youths, including teenagers.
Last week, a 31-year-old suspect, Yusuf Adenoyin was arrested by the police with eight human skulls and fresh human flesh in the Isua-Akoko area of the state. Adenoyin said he ventured into the business to raise N2 million to pay for his sick mother’s treatment in the hospital.
He told journalists as he was paraded at the Police Command headquarters at Alagbaka, Akure, that he was into the palm oil business and cashew nuts, reselling them before he met the human skull buyer on social media.
Another 30-year-old, Timothy Olaniyi was arrested with fresh human parts in Ondo town by men of the State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun. Olaniyi, who claimed to be a trailer driver with a popular brewery company where he resigned in 2020, admitted that he was caught with a bag containing two severed human hands and two human legs at the Sabo area of the city.
He also confessed that he was promised N30 million after delivering the human parts in Lagos State. Weeks earlier, policemen in the state also arrested a self-acclaimed cleric identified as Tunde Olayiwola with a fresh human head.
A fruit seller, Dolapo Babalola, also narrated how he killed some of his victims, which include his intimate friend, and five persons including his cousin. Most of the residents who spoke with LEADERSHIP on the recent development, however, tasked the security agencies to be alive to their responsibility of securing lives and property.
A retired principal, Mr Akinola Adejobi, expressed fear about the upsurge in killing humans for ritual purposes in the state. According to him, “Human life is sacred and nobody is given the mandate from God to take another man’s life for ritual purposes. The rate at which the youth of today are looking for wealth is very alarming.
Security agencies, most especially the police should be aware of their responsibility to the security of our society. They should do everything in their power to stop the spread of this dastardly act.”
Reacting, the Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the state police command, Fumilayo Odunlami , disclosed that the command is doing everything possible to ensure that the people of the state are protected.
Below I present a cry for justice and an urgent appeal voiced by the Editorial Board of the Nigerian Tribune, a leading Nigerian newspaper, to stop the nefarious trade in human parts, related organ harvesting and inhumane criminal activities commonly referred to as ‘money rituals’ in Africa’s most populous country. The authors of the Editorial call for immediate government action to stop these heinous practices and to apprehend and punish the culprits.
Previous posts on the present site related to the widespread occurrence of ‘money rituals’ in Nigeria underscore the importance of this cry for justice and urgent appeal to the highest Nigerian authorities to take immediate action. (FVDK).
That human skulls merchant
Published: June 19, 2024 By: Editorial – The Nigerian Tribune
IT seems that the criminals who trade in human flesh are intent on continuing their ruinous trade even in the face of social disapproval, and will never mend. That is why they must always be subjected to the wrath of the law. Hardly does a month go by without some story about ritual killing or related activities in the country. Just last week, one Yusuf Adinoyi, a suspected ritualist, was arrested with eight human skulls by security agents at Isua Akoko, in the Akoko South-East LGA of Ondo State. Adenoyin, 37, was arrested at one of the checkpoints between the Isua and Epinmi in a Nissan car en route Akure to Osogbo. He was in a vehicle with four other passengers when the personnel attached to the Police Safer Highway Patrol intercepted them on the road.
The Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Abayomi Oladipo, confirmed the suspect’s arrest in a statement. According to him: “Upon interrogation, Adinoyi, 37, confessed to being the owner of the skulls and explained that he was delivering them to a herbalist named Opeifa in the Oke-Onitea area of Osogbo. He equally mentioned other customers he usually supplies human skulls to include one Almonso, who lives at Oke-Onitea, Osogbo, Alfaa Agba who lives at Oke Onitea, and also Oshoyemi who resides around the Oja Oba area. The suspect further confessed that the human skulls were usually handed over to him by one Imaila living at Oboroke in Okene, and that each head is sold for between N30,000 and N35,000.” The police chief added that the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) unit in Akure with his case file for further investigations.
It is a shame that some people not only violate the dead, other people’s treasured bodies and memories, but also kill people to harvest their organs for sale, treating them like cattle. In most cases, these dead bodies are used in demonic money-making rituals, but the absurdity of the trade and practice is underlined by the fact that to date, no one has come out to tell the Nigerian public that he is a ritualist, as the traders in human flesh are called. The government must deploy every asset at its disposal, including public enlightenment campaigns, against this pernicious trade which casts the country and its people in extremely bad light. This nonsense must stop. As we have said it many times, no ritualist is on Forbes’ list of billionaires. The wealthiest people in this world have legitimate businesses; they saw a need, keyed into it, and provided services to meet that need, reaping bountiful rewards from their investment in social research. The idea that dead human flesh could somehow conjure certain spirits that will bring wealth to those subscribed to such dark practices is not only absurd but patently illogical. Are the spirits alleged to be behind such practices supposed to replace government mints, printing money from their mystical spaces and modelling them after the national currency, or do they steal other people’s money from the vault of banks, perhaps even the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), then bring such monies to those who have summoned them? Even if such a practice was real, which is vehemently denied, how does it square with the ancient, timeless wisdom that hard work—legitimate, socially sanctioned labour— is the route to wealth?
It is no coincidence that the apprehended ritualists easily show themselves to be extremely selfish, nihilistic and narcissistic. For instance, the suspect in the current story was reported to have claimed that he sold skulls in order to cater to his mother’s health. But this is a lame excuse if it even qualifies as one. Just how do you divest other people of their body parts in order to make your own mother keep hers in good shape? If every Nigerian whose mother took ill decided on his own course of action, how would the society look? Was engaging in crime the only route to addressing his mother’s health challenge? How about engaging in honest, decent labour? And now that he is in the clutches of the law, how will he ensure his mother’s wellbeing?
Yusuf’s arrest confirms, yet again, the prevalence of ritualistic engagements across the country as the platform for wealth enhancement as if killing people had ever resulted in real riches. The society has a lot of work to do to dissuade people from this unfortunate and ridiculous mindset that could only have resulted from the perversions attributable to poverty in the land. Wealth, we reiterate, ordinarily comes from productive engagements, hardwork and commitment and not the infantile engagement with occult manipulations. Given that this unfortunate engagement with rituals often comes with the sadistic killing of other human beings, there is a crucial need to strengthen the capacity of the government to apprehend those involved for necessary and appropriate punishment. In the present instance, that would include conducting thorough investigations to expose all those associated with Adinoyi in the nefarious business and ensuring that they are all adequately punished in accordance with the laws of the land.
Nigeria has an immense security problem. Boko Haram and other terrorists, armed criminal groups, bandits, kidnappers, communal clashes, political killings and – last but not least – ritual and cult-related murders terrorize the population of this West African country.
When President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29 last year he promised to end or reduce the insecurity in Africa’s most populated country (an estimated 225 million people in 2023). One year later we have a quick look at some data. The result is frightening.
On this site I focus on murders for ritual purposes, therefor I will skip the other atrocities here (though mentioned in the article below). In 2023 there were reportedly 166 people murdered in ritual and cult-related killings in the South West. Presumably the author of the article, Jeph Ajobaju, refers here to the South West geopolitical zone.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is divided into six geopolitical zones commonly called zones.
The six geopolitical zones of Nigeria
The South West geopolitical zone consists of of Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo States (6 out of Nigeria’s 36 states) with an estimated combined population of about 50 million people (2023).
Based on Ajobaju’s information that in the South West in 2023 166 persons died as a result of ritual and cult related killings, I estimate that in Nigeria at least one person a day dies as a result of ‘money rituals’, murder for ritual purposes. And this is a conservative estimate. (FVDK)
Insecurity rubbishes Tinubu’s inaugural speech to spew mass atrocities
Published: June 3, 2024 By: Jeph Ajobaju – The Niche, Nigeria
Bola Tinubu marked one year in office on May 29 as President against the backdrop of major concerns over insecurity he promised to end or reduce during the hustings last year.
Historical data plus new reports of abductions, kidnappings, and attacks show terrorists’ invasions persist despite more money being poured into security architecture.
Abuja in 2020 deployed technology to track and close the bank accounts of peaceful EndSars protesters who did not commit a fraction of the atrocities terrorists have inflicted on citizens, but it fails to also use the same apparatus to track and prosecute kidnappers.
Tinubu promised in his inaugural speech that “security shall be the top priority of our administration because neither prosperity nor justice can prevail amidst insecurity and violence.”
However, data from various tracking institutions shows an upsurge in mass killings by criminals as well as other forms of criminal conduct.
All demographics – old, young rich, and poor – live in fear of non-state actors who perpetrate violence on a large scale.
Fatalities
Daily Post writes that verified media reports and confirmation from security agencies show up to 500 people and counting have been kidnapped in mass abductions in the North so far in 2024.
February 2024
Up to 200 women and children were kidnapped from an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Gamboru Ngala in Borno.
March 2024
287 schoolchildren were snatched by bandits in Chikun in Kaduna.
Some 15 children were taken from a Tsangaya school in Sokoto.
61 people were kidnapped by gunmen in Kajuru in Kaduna.
November 2023
Coordinated attacks by armed groups saw the kidnapping of 150 people from four villages in Zamfara.
December 2023
At least 190 people were killed and over 300 injured between 23 and 25 December in attacks on at least 20 communities in remote parts of Plateau.
North West
Armed Conflict Location & Events Data (ACLED) also found between 2019 and 2023, the North West witnessed 662 kidnapping-related incidents.
South East
The South East recorded 533 insecurity-related incidents in 2023, according to ACLED, with over 224 people killed by gunmen between January and May 2023.
South West
Media reports show 166 people were murdered in ritual and cult-related killings in the South West
Global Rights through its on-site tracking, recorded more than 6,945 mass atrocities across the country in the first 11 months of Tinubu’s tenure.
May 2023-April 2024
Between 29 May 2023 and 23 April 2024, Global Rights found 3,707 killings and 3,238 abductions.
A minimum 4,416 innocent civilians were killed along with 262 security personnel.
Zamfara led the numbers – mainly abductions – at 636 in 2023, followed by Plateau with 627 killings.
Figures compiled by Global Rights
A recent report by Global Rights said in 2023 alone
1,781 people were killed by bandits
637 by ISWAP or Boko Haram
524 died in communal clashes
475 died in herdsmen attacks
118 were murdered through political killings
Figures collated by Nigeria Mourns
2,423 killings between 29 May 2023 and 26 January 2024
1,872 abductions in the same period
‘‘Global Right’s data is what we call the minimum. If you look at the various data from SBM Intelligence, from Data 5, from Nestia, and others, you will see similarities,” explained Global Rights Programme Manager Edosa Oviawe,
“It just shows that even though we are all doing it independently, we are reporting the same issues. We have backup documents for all of these.
“We are not just putting out numbers, we have the locations, we have the names of victims.”
Oviawe warned the efforts of the government may never be appreciated until it tackles insecurity.
“Doing other things, the economy and the rest are good, but security is paramount.
”If the people are dying and are being killed, every other thing you are doing makes no sense for Nigerians.
“If a man cannot live in safety, if he doesn’t have that assurance that as he steps out of his house, he is not going to become one of the numbers we are counting, then every other thing you are putting together as a government makes no meaning.’’
An allegedly gruesome ritual murder was committed in Ondo State last month, in December 2023. The victim was a day-old baby.
The authorities arrested the 66-year old grandmother of the innocent child together with a native doctor, the two had connived to murder the baby for ritual purposes.
Warning: the following articles contains graphic details which may upset readers.
Ondo State, nicknamed ‘the Sunshine State’, is located in the South West geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Federal Republic of Nigeria is divided into six geopolitical zones commonly called zones.
Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones
Ondo State is Nigeria’s 19th most populated state with an estimated population of 5.1 million people in 2022. It’s one of Nigeria’s smaller states: it’s the country’s 25th largest state with a land area of about 14,606 km² (5,639 square miles).
Ondo State is a ‘Yoruba State’: the state’s ethnic population consist mainly of Yoruba and Yoruba subgroups. The vast majority of the population practices a Christian religion, minorities are muslim or consist of traditional animist worshippers. Source: Wikipedia.
For the official website of the Ondo State government: click here
Ondo: native doctor, grandmother arrested for allegedly killing a day-old baby for ritual purposes
Published: December 15, 2023 By: Kazeem Badmus – OsunDefender, Nigeria
A self confessed prophet, Akinjise Ifeoluwa and a 66-year-old grandmother, Oyewole Margaret, have been arrested by the Ondo Police detectives for the alleged murder of a day-old baby in lsua, Akoko South East council area of Ondo state.
Osun Defender gathered that Margaret is the grandmother of the day-old baby, that was murdered after birth.
The medium learnt that the grandmother and the prophet were accused by the mother of the day-old baby, Oyewole Oluwaseun.
The mother said the duo murdered her baby for alleged ritual purposes.
The prophet and the grandmother were arrested following a complaint lodged at the lsua police division that Oluwaseun who just gave birth to a baby couldn’t give a satisfactory account of her baby’s whereabouts.
Police image maker, Funmi Odunlami, while parading the two suspects, in Akure, said that “the complainant said that his sister has been pregnant for 9 months and observed that she had delivered and when asked about the baby, she claimed the baby had died and has been buried with the aid of their mother without informing any family member.
Odunlami added that “The Police later arrested one Akinjise Ifeoluwa ‘m’ aged 40 years and Oyewole Margaret ‘f’ aged 66 years in connection with the case.
“In the course of investigation, it was discovered that her mother, Oyewole Margaret entrusted her care to a native doctor named Akinjise Ifeoluwa who also claimed to be a prophet.
“The mother of the baby stated that she got pregnant for Akinjise and that on the day of delivery, her mother and Akinjise were constantly communicating through phone and that the Prophet ordered her mother to block the child’s nostrils to enable the baby to die.
“The prophet said it is an abomination for the baby to be alive because it will lead to the death of the lady as the Prophet claimed she had slept with another man while pregnant for him except her mother wants to lose her after fourteen (14) days.
“After she regained her strength, her mother informed her that the baby had died and the baby and the placenta had been buried.
“However, when the purported place of burial was visited, neither the baby nor the placenta was found.”
In an interview, the mother of the day-old baby, Oluwaseun, said her mother, Margaret, conspired with the prophet to kill her baby for rituals.
Oluwaseun told newsmen that her mother forcefully took her away from her former husband after bearing two children for him under the pretext that he wasn’t taking care of her.
She said that the prophet and her mother should explain the whereabouts of her baby.
Ondo: Police arrest grandmother, prophet for allegedly killing day-old baby
Published: December 15, 2023 By: Hakeem Gbadamosi – Nigerian Online
Men of the Ondo State Police Command have arrested a 66-year-old grandmother, Oyewole Margaret, and a self-proclaimed prophet, Ifeoluwa Akinjise, over the killing of a day-old baby in Isua Akoko, in the Akoko South-East council area of Ondo State.
The duo is alleged to have conspired to kill the day-old baby immediately after delivery by his mother, Oluwaseun Oyewole, and then hurriedly buried the remains.
A relative of the mother reported the incident to the police after discovering that the sister, who had just given birth, was without the baby. It was later revealed that the grandmother and the prophet had collaborated to kill the baby for alleged ritual purposes.
The prophet and the grandmother were subsequently arrested following a complaint lodged at the Isua police division.
The State Police spokesperson, Funmi Odunlami, confirmed the arrest, stating that the baby’s mother’s brother lodged the complaint.
Odunlami said, “The complainant said that his sister had been pregnant for 9 months and observed that she had delivered. When asked about the baby, she claimed the baby had died and had been buried with the aid of their mother without informing any family member.
“The Police later arrested one Akinjise Ifeoluwa, aged 40, and Oyewole Margaret, aged 66, in connection with the case. In the course of investigation, it was discovered that her mother, Oyewole Margaret, entrusted her care to a native doctor named Akinjise Ifeoluwa, who also claimed to be a prophet.
“The mother of the baby stated that she got pregnant for Akinjise, and on the day of delivery, her mother and Akinjise were constantly communicating through the phone. The Prophet ordered her mother to block the child’s nostrils to enable the baby to die.
“The prophet said it is an abomination for the baby to be alive because it will lead to the death of the lady. The Prophet claimed she had slept with another man while pregnant for him unless her mother want to lose her after fourteen (14) days.
“After she regained her strength, her mother informed her that the baby had died, and the baby and the placenta had been buried. However, when the purported place of burial was visited, neither the baby nor the placenta was found.”
The mother of the day-old baby, Oluwaseun, claimed that her mother and the prophet conspired to kill her baby for rituals. She accused her mother of forcefully taking her away from her former husband after bearing two children for him, under the pretext that he wasn’t taking care of her.
She mentioned that the prophet and her mother constantly communicated on the phone and conspired to kill the baby, with the prophet instructing her mother to suffocate the baby by blocking the nose. She urged the police to question her mother and the prophet to explain the whereabouts of her baby.
Unfortunately, the list of proven and suspected ritual killing cases in Nigeria is – so-to-speak – endless. Ritualistic murders and related activities are know in Nigeria and neighboring (anglophone) countries, such as Ghana, as ‘money rituals’. Everyday, new murders are being discovered and/or reported. I’ve mentioned it earlier on this site: it is not possible to report here or to give comments on every single ‘money ritual’ in Nigeria, Africa’s most populated countries with an estimated population of about 200 million people.
Some of the reported ritual murder cases exposed below have been included in previous posts, some are not. With the help of the ‘search’ button on this page one may easily find previous posts with (more) details of the respective murder cases. (webmaster FVDK)
7 Ritual Killing Cases That Shocked Nigerians
Kehinde Oladimeji and his wife Adejumoke were arrested in Abeokuta, Ogun State, for being in possession of fresh human parts. See below.
Published: April 23, 2022 By: KOKO TV Nigeria
The rise in the rate of people who have been killed for money ritual is alarming and everyone is crying out for this evil trend to come to an end.
Money ritual can be said to be the act of using ritual to get money, now the trick here is the ingredients used in doing the ritual are what makes this act a deadly and terrible option. Most people who indulge in this ritual always want what people call ‘fast money’ because they can’t wait for their time according to the plan of God. There have been several cases of youths caught with one human part or the other or in the process of killing someone whom they want to harvest the body part and use for money ritual. So here 7 ritual killing cases that shocked Nigerians.
Sofiat Kehinde On the 4th of February, 2022, four Nigerian men were charged with the murder of a 20-year-old woman in a suspected ritual killing case. The men, who are aged between 18 to 20 years, were arrested on the last Saturday of January for allegedly killing Sofiat Kehinde and burning her head for money ritual purposes at Oke Aregba area of Abeokuta, Ogun State. According to reports, the deceased was dating one of the killers. She was lured by her boyfriend, Soliu, to his room where she was overpowered and killed.
Jennifer Anthony In the case of Jennifer Anthony; a 20-year-old Moses Oko was been apprehended by the police for allegedly killing her for ritual purposes. Jennifer, who was a student of the University of Jos, was found lifeless at a hotel in Jos, along Zaria Road, on New Year’s Day. Some of her body parts were also missing. Moses was arrested in Benue State after he fled from Jos for committing the crime.
Oluwabamise Ayanwola The 22-year-old fashion designer, Bamise, was found dead in Lagos after boarding a BRT bus heading to Oshodi from Chevron bus stop, Lekki. She was said to have been raped before being killed. Her corpse was later found on the Carter Bridge. The police have since arrested Andrew Nice Omininikoron, the driver of the BRT bus, who is the prime suspect. It was reported that young Bamise was raped, and had parts of her body removed which confirmed the suspicion that she may have been killed for ritual purposes. The bereaved family has demanded justice for her.
Timothy Odeniyi On February 1st, 2022, a suspected ritual killer, Timothy Odeniyi, was arrested by men of the Amotekun Corps in Ondo State, Nigeria. The 35-year-old man confessed to newsmen that he was promised N30m if he could produce and deliver human parts to Lagos. He revealed that the human parts were to be delivered to one of his bosses living in Lagos. Timothy confessed that he went to burial grounds to harvest the body parts from corpses buried claiming that he did not murder anyone.
Kehinde Oladimeji and Adejumoke Nigerian couple Kehinde Oladimeji, 43, and his 35-year-old wife, Adejumoke, were paraded before newsmen at the police command headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta. The suspects were arrested in Abeokuta for being in possession of fresh human parts. The couple, who resided on 72, MKO Abiola Way, Leme, Abeokuta, in the Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State, were arrested with human hands and breasts. It was reported that they killed and severed the body of a lady who was Adejumoke’s friend and sold the head to a merchant, identified as Omo Baale, a resident of Ibadan, Oyo State.
Timothy Adegoke Timothy Adegoke checked into a hotel in Ile-Ife to write his Post Graduate examinations but he never came out alive as he was murdered overnight and buried some metres away from the hotel. The proprietor of the hotel, Mr Adedoyin is currently standing trial. A lot of people reported contrary to what the police said that some of his body parts were missing and had been used for money ritual.
Afeez Olalere Another case is that of 32-year-old Afeez Olalere, who is a suspected internet fraudster. Afeez confessed to killing his younger brother for money ritual purposes. He was arrested during a stop and search operation along Itamaga, Ikorodu road in Lagos State by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command. Afeez confessed during interrogation that his mother encouraged him to kill his younger brother after a herbalist she took him to had told him to sacrifice one life which must be his sibling. He had planned with his mother to poison his 21-year-old brother to death. They harvested the required body parts and took his remains to the mortuary.
Recently, I posted on this site a large number of ritual murder cases in Nigeria. For this reason I wished to draw the readers’s attention to other African countries where similar crimes are being committed. However, these days Nigeria is making headlines which one cannot ignore. The number of ritual murders in Africa’s most populated country can no longer be counted – if that ever was the case. In my research and reporting on ‘money rituals’ in Nigeria – as ritualistic killings are commonly called in this West African country – I already experienced that I could hardly cope with the fast rising number of reported ritualistic murders committed by Yahoo boys, Yahoo Plus boys and whatever the names are that are given to these criminals who have no respect for a human life.
The below article by Hakim Jamiu is a cry to end these gruesome practices. She offers a grim insight in the recent spate in ritual murder cases in Nigeria, a devastating picture, and sketches a possible explanation for these practices which are based on superstition and fed by greed. I recognize a number of cases she mentions, some are notorious cases, whereas I am always unpleasantly surprised to learn about more ritual murder cases hitherto unknown. She does not have to dig deep to unveil ritual murder cases in nine states: Akwa Ibom, Ekiti, Kwara, Lagos, Plateau, Rivers, Ogun, Ondo, Osun. I can without much effort add nine more states. Also see my previous posts on Nigeria (click on the category African countries in the top bar and select Nigeria in the drop down menu thus appearing).
I have repeatedly mentioned on this site that Nigeria ranks Number One in ritual murder cases in Africa. The following article confirms this sad conclusion. (FVDK)
Nigeria: a harvest of ritual deaths
Published: March 17, 2022 By: Hakim Jamiu – The Cable, Nigeria
Nigeria is fast gaining notoriety as a country of ritualists with stories of ritual killings daily reported in the traditional and social media. The latest of this cannibalistic atrocity is the gruesome murder of 22-year-old Oluwabamise Ayankole who was abducted after boarding a Lagos state government-owned Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) bus and was later murdered and had parts of her body removed which confirmed the suspicion that she may have been killed for ritual purposes. Bamise, who was on her way home from work, was thereafter tossed out of the BRT Bus at Ebute Ero. Bamise, according to eyewitnesses, was still alive after she was tossed out of the vehicle at the Ebute Ero bridge but she gave up the ghost because she did not get help on time. Social media was awash with her last chat and video expressing fears for her safety inside the desolate BRT bus in which she and another lady and three men were the only occupants. As if she knew, her instinct warned her of the danger ahead but she was helpless. Murder in a BRT bus which is expected to be one of the safest means of transportation owned by the government of Lagos state is a sacrilege.
Bamise’s gruesome murder is only an addition to the harvest of deaths by ritualists in the last few weeks across Nigeria. While many Nigerians are yet to grapple with the shock of the gruesome beheading of Sofiat Kehinde, a 17-year-old girl in Abeokuta by four ritualists between ages 18 and 20, the murder of Bamise sent shock waves to all as anybody’s child, relative or friend could be the next victim. Late last year in Ado Ekiti, a seven-year-old girl, Demilade was sent on an errand by her mother four houses away but the little girl disappeared immediately and all efforts to find her proved abortive until her corpse was found in a pastor’s house the following day! Timothy Adegoke checked into a hotel in Ile-Ife to write his postgraduate examinations but he never came out alive as he was murdered overnight and buried some metres away from the hotel. The proprietor of the hotel is currently standing trial!
In Ogun state, a woman connived with her husband to kill her visiting friend and dismembered her. The remains of the victim were later found in a bucket in the couple’s room. A ritual killer, Timothy Odeniyi who was arrested by Amotekun Corps in Ondo state confessed that he used to harvest human parts at burial grounds which he sells to his clients. In Jos, 20-year-old Moses Oko killed Jennifer, a student of the University of Jos and removed some of her body parts. In Ikorodu, Lagos state, a suspected internet fraudster (Yahoo+), 32-year-old Afeez Olalore killed his younger brother for ritual purposes. In Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, Uduak Akpan, a serial ritual killer killed 20-year-old Iniobong Umoren, a job seeker and buried her in a shallow grave. In Ilorin, Kwara state, a next-door neighbour allegedly murdered a groom-to-be for ritual purposes.
In 2019, Nigerians were alarmed about the arrest of one of Nigeria’s notorious ritual killers called Gracious David West in Port Harcourt who confessed to having killed at least 15 women for ritual purposes. In November 2019, one-year-old boy Eniola Kolawole was declared missing at Sotitobire Miracle Centre, Akure, Ondo state and has not been found till today. Irate youths set the church ablaze but the pastor who had been on trial has since been discharged and acquitted. One Shakirat was murdered in Iwo, Osun state and her body was dumped behind her mother’s shop with some of her parts missing!
It is an understatement to say that Satan has taken over our affairs completely as cases of ritual killings keep rising by the day! The question now is, are rituals for money-making real? Perhaps this is why the Nigerian-American media scholar, newspaper columnist and activist, Farooq Kperogi while bemoaning the unending spate of ritual murders in Nigeria argued, “the only solution lies in the liberation of Nigerians from stupid, backward, unproductive and murderous superstitions. The witch doctors who tell people to bring the body parts of murdered people to make them rich are often one of the most wretched people you can find on earth. If money rituals were real, they would be wealthy and won’t let anybody in on the secret”. Not many people agree with the view of Kperogi because if money-making rituals do not exist, why is ritual killing on the increase across the country? There have been many unverifiable variants and anecdotes concerning how money rituals work especially among yahoo boys which is called Yahoo plus. There is a type whereby ebora (a spirit) will bring the money to the yahoo boy after necessary sacrifices with human parts have been done. There is another type that will make the victim, usually, a foreigner obey whatever the yahoo boy says including sending millions of dollars on request. There is yet another type that involves using the pant of a woman. The pant, as they say, will fetch the ritualist a lot of money. It is not only yahoo boys that are into the ritual killing but they may have influenced others who are not into internet fraudsters to kill for rituals because of the belief that it is working for them. Some yahoo boys even go to the extent of eating human faeces, having spiritual baths in broad daylight at a public place, appearing only in pants in broad daylight to withdraw money from ATMs and so many bizarre and silly things!
The question remains, how much is ritual killing giving those involved in it that is worth the desperation of taking the life of a fellow human being? Definitely, it cannot give billions because many of the Yahoo plus boys even get broke after about three to six months while some go mad! So what’s the need for ritual killing? Apart from Yahoo boys, there are reports of a well-organised clientele of ritual killers which means that not all who are involved in ritual killing directly use the human parts but they are agents of some powerful personalities who buy the parts from them. There are reports that human parts markets exist in some areas of Lagos. It is also ridiculous that human life has been so reduced to nothingness that a human head is sold for as low as N20,000. Research also shows that many people who seek power and wealth like politicians and businessmen also use human parts for charms for good fortune and for fortification against real and perceived enemies! I wish to remind this group of politicians and businessmen that the greatest fortification and blessings come from God who is the custodian of power and fortune.
The underlying factor responsible for the present malaise is desperation on the part of our young ones who are eager to get rich quick. There is unprecedented moral bankruptcy and total collapse of family values of hard work, honesty and integrity. We should go beyond lamentations and take drastic actions. We must dig into the root cause of this barbaric act and approach it from there. What we are seeing are symptoms rather than cause. Our society has been sold to the dogs and many souls sold to the devil, the result is what is confronting us. A 17-year-old wanting to ride the latest automobile sold for millions of naira, not through any work but by any means. Society celebrating any rich person not minding the source of his or her wealth is responsible for the present madness. Images of boys displaying wealth on social media and messages that all that matter is money and the message is sinking fast and spreading like wildfire!
In one of the videos that circulated on the social media, a boy was asked if he could use her mother for rituals, he didn’t hesitate before saying yes as long as he will be rich! That’s what our society has turned to! We are breeding monsters and heartless beings who would not mind going to any length just to be rich! A child who would not blink an eyelid before killing his own mother for rituals would kill anybody without thinking about it! It is such a pity! It is common these days to find human head in a cellophane bag carried by a teenager sitting next to you in a bus! Human parts have become very common like animal parts ! It is such a shame that we have become a cannibalistic society! It is now normal to suspect the man or woman sitting next to you in a public place as a ritualist! It is that bad!
Beyond lamentations that have not helped, we must all resolve to end this monster that is threatening to consume all of us. Nobody is immune from ritual death. Bamise and other victims of ritual killings must not die in vain. Now that the driver of the BRT bus and his cohorts have been apprehended, their trial must be swift and transparent. Cameras must be installed in all BRT buses that would be monitored at a base station and on no account must this be switched off by any BRT driver.
The national and state houses of assembly should begin to work on laws to empower special courts to try ritual murder cases with stiffer penalties. Everybody must be vigilant and we must de-emphasise material wealth in our society while the source of wealth of emergency millionaires and new kids on the block must be questioned and such characters ostracized by the rest of the society as it was the practice on the days of yore when there was sanity.
We must say no to ritual killings! We are neither animals nor vampires! Even animals don’t kill themselves senselessly as we are witnessing presently!
Ritual murder cases are so numerous in Nigeria that it seems impossible to report on each and every one of them. Last year and the years before showed many ritualistic murder cases – ‘money rituals ‘ – and the new year 2022 is not even six weeks old but already the country was shocked by a number of ‘money rituals’ which seems to justify the fear that 2022 will be a murderous year. (Webmaster FVDK)
Four Ritual Killing Cases That Shocked Nigerians In 2022
Published: February 9, 2022 By: Christine – Daily Trust, Nigeria
Cases of ritual killings in the country are fast increasing. Despite the fact that the year is new and in its second month, 2022 has already experienced the heartache and anguish that ritual killings are causing. Daily Trust highlights top ritual killings cases that have rocked the country in 2022.
Sofiat Kehinde
On the 4th of February, 2022, four Nigerian men were charged with the murder of a 20-year-old woman in a suspected ritual killing case. The men, who are aged between 18 to 20 years, were arrested on the last Saturday of January for allegedly killing Sofiat Kehinde and burning her head for money ritual purposes at Oke Aregba area of Abeokuta, Ogun State. According to reports, the deceased was dating one of the killers. She was lured by her boyfriend, Soliu, to his room where she was overpowered and killed.
Timothy Odeniyi
On February 1st, 2022, a suspected ritual killer, Timothy Odeniyi, was arrested by men of the Amotekun Corps in Ondo State, Nigeria. The 35-year-old man confessed to newsmen that he was promised N30m if he could produce and deliver human parts to Lagos. He revealed that the human parts were to be delivered to one of his bosses living in Lagos. Timothy confessed that he went to burial grounds to harvest the body parts from corpses buried claiming that he did not murder anyone.
Jennifer Anthony
In the case of Jennifer Anthony; a 20-year-old Moses Oko was been apprehended by the police for allegedly killing her for ritual purposes. Jennifer, who was a student of the University of Jos, was found lifeless at a hotel in Jos, along Zaria Road, on New Year’s Day. Some of her body parts were also missing. Moses was arrested in Benue State after he fled from Jos for committing the crime.
Afeez Olalere
Another case is that of 32-year-old Afeez Olalere, who is a suspected internet fraudster. Afeez confessed to killing his younger brother for money ritual purposes. He was arrested during a stop and search operation along Itamaga, Ikorodu road in Lagos State by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command.
Afeez confessed during interrogation that his mother encouraged him to kill his younger brother after a herbalist she took him to had told him to sacrifice one life which must be his sibling. He had planned with his mother to poison his 21-year-old brother to death. They harvested the required body parts and took his remains to the mortuary.
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An Ondo State Police public relation officer confirmed the death of Tunde Olayiwola, but did not give details of what led to his death.
Is this another example of jungle justice? Further investigation will have to learn what caused Olayiwola’s death but if there’s foul play the rule of law demands that those who are responsible for his unnatural death must account for their deeds. It’s a gross violation of a suspect’s legal and human rights to be maltreated or even killed while in police custody.
But will we ever hear the truth about what happened to Tunde Olayiwola? (webmaster FVDK).
Suspect with fresh human head dies in police custody
Published: December 26, 2021 By: Babatope Okeowo, Akure – The New Telegraph
A suspected ritualist, Tunde Olayiwola who was arrested by the Ondo State Police Command for unlawful possession of fresh human head has died in their custody, it was learnt yesterday.
Olayiwola, who was paraded alongside eight others suspects arrested for various criminal offences ranging from murder, kidnapping and cultism last week Thursday, died in the police clinic in Akure, the state capital.
Olayiwola, who claimed to be an herbalist of 53 years experience, said he bought the fresh human head from one of his customers for N60, 000 in order to use it for money making ritual.
He confessed that the head found in his possession was to be used to ensure he had a better life, saying he did not have any regrets for using a human head for ritual purposes.
He said if it was his son that was killed for money making ritual, he said that was his end and would do nothing about it.
He refused to give the name of his accomplices saying he wanted to be rich just as his counterparts.
The Commissioner of Police, Mr Oyeyemi Oyediran, who paraded the suspect, said the Police received information that a self acclaimed cleric named Alfa Tunde Olayiwola, a suspected ritualist, was about to receive a consignment suspected to be a human head.
Oyediran said the Police immediately swung into action and the cleric was apprehended at Ajagbale Area of Oka, Ondo town. He added that a fresh human head was found in his custody.
But on Sunday, a police source, who did not want his name in print, said the cleric, who was apprehended at Oka, Ondo West Local Government, slumped at Special Anti-cultist Section of the state police command, located along FUTA road in Akure.
The Police Public Relation Officer, Funmilayo Odunlami confirmed the death of the suspect, but did not give details of what led to his death.
The article below illustrates well how ‘money rituals’ are being organized and performed in Nigeria. A 55-year-old man who wanted to become rich, ordered ‘a fresh human head’ which was ‘delivered’ to him at his home as if he had ordered something at Amazon.com
Of course, one wonders if this man is not insane. But jumping to that conclusion is, first of all, not my job – I prefer to leave that judgement to a judge. However, the whole situation demonstrates the evil which results from the belief in superstition in combination with greed and moral decay. Hail to the Ondo police to have apprehended this man who will have to account for his deeds (read: misdeeds)! (webmaster FVDK).
55-year-old man arrested with human head in Ondo State
Published: December 23, 2021 By: Hakeem Gbadamosi – Nigerian Tribune
Men of the Ondo State Police Command have arrested a 55-year old man, Tunde Olayiwola, who was allegedly caught with a fresh human head meant for money ritual in Ondo, headquarters of Ondo West Local Government Area of the state.
Speaking during the parade, on Thursday, the State Commissioner of Police, Oyeyemi Oyediran, said the suspect was arrested by men of the state police command after an intelligence report that the suspect was about to receive a consignment.
He said the suspect was apprehended with the fresh head delivered to him and confessed that the head was meant to be used by him to ensure a better life.
He said: “On the 23rd of December, 2021, at about 9 am, the police received information that a self-acclaimed cleric named Alfa Tunde Olayiwola, a suspected ritualistic was about to receive a consignment suspected to be human head.
“The police immediately swung into action and the cleric was apprehended at Ajagbale area of Oka in Ondo town.
“A free head was found in his custody. He confessed that the head found in his possession was to be used to ensure he had a better life.”
Confessing to the crime, Olayiwola who said he hailed from Oshogbo said he ordered for the fresh head for money ritual at the sum of N60,000.
He said the consignment was delivered to him at home by a man he met at a social function on Thursday morning, saying he was about to commence the ritual when he was arrested.
He said, “I purposely ordered for the human head to make my life better and it was delivered to me. This is my first time but I want to do it to become rich and live a better life. The head was delivered to me today.”
During the past year, many of my posts on this site focused on Nigeria and the alarming scale of ritual murders and related crimes in this country, contributing to a nation-wide security problem though, one knows, Nigeria’s security problem has many faces. See my February 2, 2021 post Security challenges in Nigeria.
On May 26, 2021 a Nigerian reporter, Ayodele Oluwafemi, of The Cable, a Nigerian news outlet, published a frightening analysis of mysterious disappearances and ritual murders during the past seven years. Already the list of missing and/or murdered persons is impressive.
“Although reported cases of ritual killings show that the incident happens in all regions of the country — media reports suggest that the south-west accounts for a large percent of the killings.”
Subsequently the author analyses some of the media reports published in the past few years on ritual killings in the south-west region of the country.
Warning: the graphic description of the ritual murders may upset certain readers (FVDK).
NB: The links included in the following Cable article are the original links and consequently, I am not responsible for their proper functioning (FVDK).
Overview: how south-west is becoming a hotbed of ritual killings in Nigeria
In recent times, reported cases of ritual killings have surged in many parts of the country. Law enforcement agencies have arrested many suspects of ritual killings — with gory pictures of human skulls and dismembered bodies.
Aside from the arrest and parade of suspected ritualists by the police, the Nigerian social media space has become a place where users mobilise members of the public to help find missing friends, colleagues, and family members.
As a result of this trend of missing persons, Enough is Enough (EiE), a civil society organisation, created a website alongside social media platformsto document cases of missing persons.
“Nigerians are reported missing daily. But most often, there are no records of these missing people, it is our mandate to document these records and make it easy to find those who are lost and missing,”an excerpt on the website’s front page says.
In most cases, some of these persons declared missing are found but many remain missing — with the hope of getting found by their families and friends dimming every passing day.
The trend of missing persons and the police’ arrest of suspected ritual killers suggest that many of those declared missing may have been victims of ritual killers.
Although reported cases of ritual killings show that the incident happens in all regions of the country — media reports suggest that the south-west accounts for a large percent of the killings.
TheCable analysed some of the media reports published in the past few years on ritual killings in the south-west region of the country.
On March 24, 2014, the nation was thrown into a moment of confusion when a kidnappers’ den was discovered in Soka community, Ibadan, Oyo state.
The den was discovered by some commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as ”okada”, who were searching for two of their colleagues after they took two passengers to the community without returning.
After the den was busted, human skulls, dried human parts alongside malnourished victims which were reserved for ritual purposes, were discovered.
Personal items like bags, shoes, and identity cards which appeared to be victims’ belongings were also seen at the den.
Since the 2014 shocking discovery at Soka, there have been multiple revelations of suspected ritual killings, especially in the south-west of the country.
The police also rescued a 28-year-old woman found in the uncompleted building.
In 2016, the Ogun police discovered a ritualists’ den located within an abandoned filling station at Iyana-Ilogbo axis of Sango-Ota of Ogun state, following a tip-off from a member of the community.
The police arrested two suspected ritualists in connection with the activities carried out in the den.
On August 30, 2017, two people were killed by a mob in the Mushin area of Lagos state over alleged involvement in kidnappings and ritual killings.
The incident was said to have happened at Challenge bus stop, Mushin, after a vulcaniser sighted a suspected mad man discussing with someone in a tunnel at the bus stop.
On October 7, 2017, the Ogun police arrested six members of a syndicate allegedly involved in killing people for ritual purposes at different locations across the state.
The police said two members of the syndicate were caught with a bag containing fresh and dried human parts.
On August 20, 2018, the Lagos police arrested Taiwo Akinola, a suspected cult member, for allegedly attempting to kill Alice Akinola, his mother, for money rituals.
It was reported that the assailant attacked his mother by hitting a plank on her head at their residence at Raji Ajanaku street, Alaja road, Ayobo axis of Lagos after he had sent his nephew to go and buy a white handkerchief and a pack of cigarette.
It was reported that the suspects cut off the boy’s head for the purpose of selling it for N200,000.
The suspects have been remanded in prison.
On January 18, 2019, the Ekiti police busted a ritualists’ den in Odo, Ado Ekiti, and arrested two suspected ritualists, after a tip-off from members of the community on suspicion of ritual activities in the area.
On June 20, 2019, Dotun Ogunlade, a prophet popularly called ‘Arole Jesu’, was arrested in Igboora area of Oyo state for the alleged murder of Bosede Ogunlade, a 25-year-old housewife for ritual purposes.
The prophet was said to have lured Bosede, who hailed from Ilorin in Kwara state, with the promise of providing solution to her economic and marital problems.
On October 5, 2019, the Ogun police arrested two men, Emmanuel Aro, aged 25, and Anu Olofinju, aged 25, with a human skullalong Ijoun road, Eggua axis of the state.
The two suspects were said to have been sighted at a cemetery, digging the grave of the mother of one Amoo Bankole.
Within one month, three young ladies — Grace Oshiagwu, Barakat Bello, and Azeezat Somuyiwa — were murdered in their residences located in Akinyele LGA in a pattern that suggested ritual killing.
He said he was sent on the mission by a 50-year-old herbalist, whom he claimed was his master.
“Anytime I’m to go for the killing, baba (referring to the herbalist) will give me some charms and also teach me some incantation to be recited so that nobody will see me at the scene of the crime,” he said.
The suspects were arrested after a phone belonging to a missing person was tracked to one of the suspects. Corpses were also discovered in the suspects’ house — a development that made angry youths in the area raze the building.
On January 17, 2021, an elderly man, who according to residents, usually acts like a mentally unstable person, was arrested by the police for alleged kidnapping and ritual activities in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti state.
The police discovered some items belonging to his victims like cheque books, wigs, and ATM cards in an abandoned uncompleted building adjacent to the Ekiti State Teaching Hospital, where the suspect lived.
On April 12, 2021, a woman — identified as Iya Elekuru — was murdered in a building by suspected ritualists in Ile-Ife, Osun state. Her killers were said to have lured her into the building under the pretence they went to buy food from her.
When her corpse was discovered, the head and hands had been cut off.
RIGHT TO LIFE
Every Nigerian citizen is entitled to the right to life as enshrined in section 33 of the 1999 constitution (as amended). The right to life can only be denied if such a person is sentenced by the court when found guilty of a criminal offence.
Those who engage in ritual killings risk heavy punishment when convicted by the court as states have legal provisions to punish ritual killers and kidnappers.
Despite the legal provisions against ritual killings and other related capital offences, ritual killings still persist.
