Ritual murders by youths: Society is decaying

•Teenage suspects arrested for the murder of a female teenager in Ogun Photo: File copy

THE disturbing trend of ritual murders, particularly involving young people, is steadily gaining notoriety across Nigeria. Once considered the preserve of hardened criminals, ritual killings have alarmingly become the plaything of teenagers and young adults, including undergraduates. Reports of ritual murders involving this demographic are becoming more frequent. In many cases, young women are disproportionately the victims.

These murders are mostly orchestrated by close acquaintances who betray their prey and set them up for gruesome mutilation to make money through ritual practices. Also, the craze for night parties and get-rich-quick schemes entrenches the toxic practice, making young people vulnerable to ritual murderers and their accomplices.

In a distressing case, four young men were arrested by the Kogi State Police Command for killing Damilola Olowoyo, 17, a 100-level undergraduate at the Federal University, Lokoja, recently. The prime suspect, Jeremiah Awe, allegedly drugged and lured Damilola to a bush near his lodge at Felele, killing her for ritual purposes.

He informed Damilola’s parents that their daughter had been kidnapped and demanded ransom from them to enable him to fund the ritual requirements. He stated that he met the native doctor on social media platform, TikTok. William Aya, the Kogi State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, alleged that Barnabas Olugbenga, 20, Ajani Ayomide, 20, and Emmanuel Otitoju, 24, aided the crime.

In August, Mojisola Awesu, 21, a graduate of the Kwara State College of Health Technology, Offa, was tricked to a hotel in Ilorin under the pretext of representing her girlfriend at a party. She was paid N15,000. She was killed for her troubles. Four men are on trial for her murder.

The PUNCH 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 man named simply as Ridwan, 20, 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, Chibuzor Amadi, 33, and Chijioke Ogbonna, 37, 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.

The victims of these horrifying acts are often young girls, underlining a disturbing gender imbalance in this menace. Statistics show that Nigerian women and girls face an increasing threat of ritual-related killings, with reports from civil society groups and local media detailing the heightened vulnerability of women to these brutal crimes.

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 incidences occurred in 43 women, and 30 children in 80 cases across 20 states.

This crisis begs the question, where did Nigerian society go wrong? The moral fabric of society appears to have torn, allowing this tragic descent into rituals for money among youths. The allure of quick wealth has eroded traditional values of hard work and integrity.

The false mantra that “education is a scam” resonates with many young people. This is unfortunate. When political leaders and other role models flaunt wealth acquired through dubious means, they inadvertently set a tone that corrupts the younger generation, encouraging a dangerous scramble for filthy lucre.

With youth unemployment hovering at alarming levels—an estimated 53.4 per cent as of 2024 per NBS—many young people are left without opportunities for legitimate livelihoods, increasing their vulnerability to engaging in criminal activities. The growing culture of “get rich quick” by any means necessary is compounded by the glaring failure of the corrupt political system.

In addition, the collapse of family structures and parental guidance is fuelling the rise of these crimes. Cases have emerged of parents being complicit in their children’s illegal activities. In 2021, a mother was arrested for aiding her son in committing a N50m internet fraud in Lagos, an unsettling reminder that the family unit, once a stronghold of moral teaching, is disintegrating under the weight of societal pressures.

Some parents, in a twisted display of ambition, compare their children to peers who have acquired wealth through illegitimate means, pushing them toward crime instead of guiding them with values of honesty and integrity.

Religious leaders, too, have their share of blame. Some have been accused of providing spiritual support to cyber criminals and ritual killers, lending legitimacy to these heinous acts under the guise of religious rituals.

In Ogun, reports state that the police arrested a prophet, Peter Ifatosin, as part of a seven-man gang allegedly specialised in trading human parts and involvement in money rituals. In 2022, the Ogun Police Command detained three persons including a pastor, Felix Ajadi, for allegedly abducting and dismembering a 39-year-old man, Adekunle Muyiwa.

The criminal networks behind these ritual killings often operate with alarming ease, aided by secret cultists, and alleged corrupt elements in the banking sector, who help facilitate illicit transactions.

Unfortunately, some landlords are reported to prefer renting their properties to suspected criminals, pushing up real estate prices in their localities. The impunity with which these criminals operate reflects the deep systemic rot that has taken hold of various sectors of society.

Efforts must be intensified to curb this menace. The police should extend their focus beyond the immediate perpetrators and go after those found to be aiding and abetting these crimes. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the cybercrime unit of the police should collaborate and bolster their intelligence-gathering capacities to dismantle these networks at all costs.

Whistleblowers should be encouraged to report suspicious activities and a discreet reward system should be established to incentivise citizens to help law enforcement agencies apprehend these criminals.

It is crucial to rethink the age-related leniency afforded teenagers who commit such grave offences. The law must be stringent enough to deter potential offenders, regardless of age. Those involved in ritual murders must face the full weight of the law without the protection of juvenile delinquency statutes.

In California and New Orleans, USA, persons under the age of 18 could be tried in standard courts for committing severe offences like rape, murder, sexual penetration, bodily harm, and violence. An 11-year-old boy who recently shot a former mayor, Joe Cornelius, and his daughter, Keisha Miles, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and may be tried in a standard courtroom. Nigeria could take a leaf out of the book of these American states.

The role of social media in glamourising illicit wealth cannot be ignored. Social media platforms are rife with the display of wealth acquired through criminal means, often luring impressionable young minds into the dark world of ritual killings and cybercrime. The rise of ‘Yahoo Plus,’ a disturbing combination of internet fraud and ritual practices, exemplifies the intersection of technology and diabolism.

It is time for Nigerian society to take a firm stand. This war against ritual murders is not just for the government or law enforcement to fight; it is a collective responsibility. Moral norms must be reinstated, and society should celebrate individuals who acquire wealth through legitimate means while punishing deviants. The time for action is before an entire generation becomes further entangled in this web of corruption and bloodshed.