• Cleric, security expert, others express worry
• ‘There’s need for complete moral re-orientation’
By Vivian Onyebukwa
The rate of killings in Nigeria in recent times has become alarming. Different forms of crimes are committed on a daily basis ranging from armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, ritual killing, domestic violence, child abuse, murder, burglary, financial crimes, cyber crimes, fraud, terrorism and lots more. In many of these cases, unsuspecting individuals are killed.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that over 150 ritual killing cases were recorded in Nigeria in the past six months. And examples abound.
On Tuesday, Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, was thrown into mourning as Laremo Caleb, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), and his wife, Tate allegedly hacked each other to death in their home over allegations of infidelity.
The wife was said to have severed off Caleb’s manhood, while the dying man subsequently hacked his wife to death with a cutlass.
Earlier this week, an Ilorin, Kwara State-based Islamic cleric, Alfa Abdulrahman, was arrested by the police for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Lawal Hafsoh Yetunde, who he met on social media.
The suspected killer, after the gruesome killing, was said to have dismembered the body.
Yetunde had gone missing on Monday, February 10, 2025 after visiting the suspect in his house. Until her gruesome murder, she was a student of Kwara State Polytechnic.
After killing her, the suspect reportedly dismembered the body and sold the parts to different buyers for ritual purposes. As many as 11 pairs of ladies’ shoes were also said to have been discovered in his room, fuelling suspicions that he had been on his satanic job for long.
In December, one Pastor Peter Oluwalolese of God Has Done It Church in Apata, Ibadan, Oyo State, was apprehended for killing a female member of his church for alleged crowd-pulling ritual.
In Nasarawa State, Timileyin Ajayi, described as a gospel singer, allegedly murdered a lady, 24-year-old Salome Adaidu, and dismembered her body. He was caught carrying the head of his victim in a bag which drew attention from other people who accosted. When he was arrested by the police, other dismembered parts of the deceased’s body were recovered from his home. The deceased, Salome Adaidu was identified as a member of the National Youth Service Corps who was serving in Abuja.
Also in January this year, a middle-aged man, identified as Nwana, set his wife, Chioma Nwana, ablaze following a heated altercation over suspected infidelity at Eziezekwe village, Abagana, in Anambra State. Chioma, who sustained severe burns, was rushed to a nearby hospital where she later died.
Also in Anambra State, some assailants killed three siblings and stored their bodies in a freezer at Nnewichi community, Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State. The three siblings included a five-year-old boy and two girls, aged seven and nine respectively. The killers invaded their apartment while the children were eating, killed them and inserted their lifeless bodies into a refrigerator in one of the rooms. The children – Ejezie Chikaima Daviana, Chimdirim David Ejezie, and Chimziterem Dominica Ejezie, were the only ones in the house when the incident happened. Their mother, Chikazor Ejezie, a lecturer and a nurse, had reportedly left the house to partake in an examination on the fateful day.
One Esther Adesiyan was kidnapped along with her husband, Adesiyan Akinropo, her son and her brother-in-law, who was visiting the family by gunmen who invaded their residence. Her lifeless body was discovered around Ijah-Gbagyi community in Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State few days after. The morning attack took place in Chikakore area of Kubwa, in Bwari Area Council.
In Enugu State, a 33-year-old man, Sunday Echege, cut off his wife’s wrist with a machete. The incident occurred in the Ibagwa-Ani community, Nsukka Local Government Area following an argument in which he accused her of extramarital affairs.
Recently too, a young man went into a bush, killed a woman, beheaded her and took her severed head back to his home. In an immediate and furious response, the locals stormed the man’s residence, where they found the woman’s head. Overcome with rage, they set him on fire.
In another incident, earlier this month, Precious, a 20-year-old man, was arrested for his role in the kidnapping and subsequent brutal murder of a 10-year-old girl in the Orhoakpo Ethiope East area of Delta State. According to reports, Precious allegedly lured the young girl into a kidnapping scheme, where he handed her over to two unidentified men who then killed her with machetes after promising him a reward of N200,000.
Also in Delta State, Otor-Owhe community, Isoko North Local Government Area witnessed yet another gruesome murder by a 37-year-old man identified as Oghenero. The evil perpetrator, an alleged internet fraudster, popularly known as a “Yahoo boy,” was lynched by a mob for allegedly beheading a woman known as Oshomirara, on her farm. .
Late last year, man described as a hardened cultist and a drug addict, Nweke Chukwuemeka from Ozalla, Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State, went berserk and murdered a four-year- old girl, Zinachukwu Ugwu in her sleep at Nsukka, Nsukka local government area of the State. When he was arrested by the police, weed and strong drinks were found in his abode. He would have killed many others but people ran away when they saw him wielding a machete in the compound before he descended on the sleeping girl.
Early this year, a man was arrested in Adamawa State for allegedly digging up the corpse of his stepfather from a grave and cutting off the head. The suspect, a 55-year-old hunter, Yusuf Garba, hails from Tappare Kona Uku in Jada LGA.
During police interrogation, the suspect explained that the son of the deceased came to him and demanded the head of his late father for ritual purposes.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command recently, rescued a young woman from a suspected armed robber and ritualist at a hotel in the Wuse area of Abuja. The 25-year-old woman, Promise Eze, from Ebonyi State, was already tied to a small chair with her mouth covered in plaster when the police rescued her after receiving a distress call. According to report, the victim had checked into the hotel on January 30, 2025, with a man who introduced himself as Emmanuel Okoro from Lagos State whom she met online. The victim was found unconscious and in distress, but officers acted quickly, freed her from captivity and rushed her to the hospital where she was revived.
Early this month in Calabar, Cross River State, a man allegedly withdrew N2 million from his friend’s bank account, killed him, chopped his body into pieces, and put the pieces in a sack. When the suspect withdrew the money, the deceased raised alarm. He lured him to his house, killed and butchered him in his room.
The death of kidnapped Anambra State House of Assembly member, Justice Azuka who represented Onitsha North 1 Constituency in the State House of Assembly, is yet another gruesome murder by criminals. The lawmaker was kidnapped on December 24, 2024, and was found dead by a team of police officers and the Anambra Vigilance Group at the foot of Niger Bridge. The assailants had withdrawn N100 million from his bank account before killing him.
Experts, other stakeholders, react
An expert in security matters, Seyi Babaeko, while speaking in an interview with News Agency Of Nigeria (NAN), raised concern over rising cases of ritual killings, and called for urgent measures to address the trend. Babaeko, Managing Director of Absolute Security and Advance Protocol Ltd, described the rise in ritual killings in Nigeria as a disturbing trend that reflects deeper socio-economic, cultural, and security challenges.
He attributed it to the growing desperation for wealth, widespread belief in supernatural influences on success, and the erosion of moral values which has fuelled the menace.
Not too long ago, Nigeria’s House of Representatives urged the Nigerian federal government to declare a state-of-emergency on the rising incidence of ritual killings in the country. Following a motion by its Deputy Minority Leader Toby Okechukwu, the country’s lower legislative chamber also called on the then Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, to take urgent steps to increase surveillance and intelligence gathering with a view to apprehending and prosecuting perpetrators of ritual killings in Nigeria.
House members equally ordered the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to initiate a campaign towards changing the situation in the country.
The latest call by the House of Representatives resonated because of the immediate backdrop when police in Ogun State arrested four teenagers in connection with the killing of 20-year-old Sofiat Kehinde. The suspects, one of whom was friendly with Kehinde, had reportedly decapitated her with a machete and proceeded to burn the head, ostensibly to use the ashes and other body parts in a money-making ritual.
Several other measures are also being taken in different states of the country to curb killings. Recently, Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, launched the State’s security outfit called“Agunechemba”, to fish out and arrest criminals that have been terrorising the State and its environs.
The security operative raided a notorious criminal hideout at Enugwu-Agidi in the Njikoka Local Government Area of the state. The “Agunechemba” troops invaded the area with other security outfits like the police, Department of State Services, military and vigilantes and recovered AK-47 rifles, eight pump action guns, four locally-made pistols, three packets of cartridges (101 cartridges), four empty magazines of AK-47 rifles, three cutlasses, one Baofeng radio, one motorcycle, and some charms. It was also gathered that the officers apprehended a member of a suspected kidnapping syndicate during the raid.
In his own reaction, the General Overseer of Jesus Campaigners Ministry, Bishop Nath Ofor attributed the killings and other vices to the destruction of foundation, and questioned the moral teachings in the church today. “What teaching are we giving our children? No one is interested in bringing up a child in the right way. The word of God says bring up a child the way he should go so when he grows he will not depart from it. What will the future parents teach their children? All these ones doing yahoo plus, what would they teach their children when they get married? The society is getting worse every day. Even the teachers, what are they teaching the children? Compare them to those that went to missionary schools in the 70s, 80s and now. Everybody centres in prosperity. The Pastors are showing off their wealth. It is a foundational issue. There is no moral, discipline and righteousness again. Everybody is just get it quick, no one cares how one makes his or her money. Youths are no longer interested in skills acquisition. No one wants to learn trade. Everybody wants money. That is why crime is increasing”.
Bishop Ofor maintained that nothing would be done about it until the foundation is corrected. He noted that even some of them in secondary schools are already in cult, yahoo business. “These ones you are seeing that would be teachers and lecturers tomorrow, are already fraudsters in the university. The good ones are going and the bad ones are replacing them”, Bishop Ofor said.
A concerned citizen and a father, Alinnor Anthony, an engineer, called for a complete moral reorientation. “Parents should pay more attention to their responsibilities instead of going after wealth. The society should transfer the respect they pay for money back to knowledge immediately”.
Another father, Jevic Chukwuchebem, a fashion designer, described the crime rate in Nigeria as alarming. “The rate at which youths take to crime is a serious cause for concern”, he said.
He gave several reasons why crime is becoming so rampant in the country, saying that crime rate in Nigeria is quite amazing and keeps growing by the day despite efforts by the security forces to curb it. He stated that there can be many different causes of crime adding that studies conducted all around the world to understand and bring down criminal activities have been futile. He believed that it is a constant endeavour of the government at different levels, and security organisations in the country to bring down crime rates but various factors encourage it directly and indirectly. “In Nigeria, different forms of crimes are committed on a daily basis ranging from armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, domestic violence, child abuse, murder, burglary, financial crimes, cyber crimes, fraud, terrorism and lots more.
“Poverty and economic deprivation have been seen to be the number one cause of crime in the country. In a country where economic deprivation persists, it often drives its citizens to take to crime to survive. People are often driven to great lengths of desperation by poverty and this is a major cause of crime. The fact that such frustration is created is in itself a very dangerous thing for society on the whole as global inflation has risen significantly over the last few years. In a society where the rich get richer and the poor keep battling with survival, crime is sure to persist.”
He stated that closely related to poverty is the family condition that leads the youths to commit crimes. “There are a lot of things that go on in families that often cause people to get into a life of crime and here again lies the factor of deprivation. People who are neglected by their families and do not get the love and attention that they desire also get into criminal activities. Some youths feel they need to cater for their poor families and this can also force them into a life of crime.”
According to Chukwuchebem, some youths take to crime because they see their mates going into it and they want to be accepted. He added that crimes like cultism are often traced to peer pressure. Youths who lack the strong will to resist what they see from their peers often try their hands in crime so as to measure up”.
He further stated that the society, starting from the home, church and the community also contribute to the high rate of crime in the country.
“In a society where wealth is worshiped without caring where and how such wealth is made inadvertently push youths into crimes. There are families who compare their children to others and see them as failures because they have not measured up. Some parents are even in the habit of comparing their own children to others, especially those they see as being successful. Those who flaunt their wealth in the society also force the younger ones to want to be like them and as such, the crime rates rise by the day”, he said.
He also blamed the abuse of drugs. “Drugs are a bane in the society because a person who is addicted to drugs and is unable to support his addiction more often than not, end up in a life of crime to fuel their habits. Most violent criminals end up blaming drugs for their involvement in crimes”.
The skyrocketing unemployment in the country is also another reason the youths take to crime to support themselves. According to him, a situation where one goes through school and end up jobless for many years is a clear invitation into a world of crime.
“Politics is often a cause of crime. The quest for political power leads politicians into arming the youths with dangerous weapons to serve as thugs during electioneering campaigns but after they get into power, they forget the youths and they have to use the guns to fend for themselves. This is another serious cause of crime in the country, especially where the youths see that they are being deprived of what should rightly belong to them”.
Others factors according to Chukwuchebem include the unending crisis in the Niger Delta which he said, is as a result of deprivation where the youths of the region see that the oil gotten from their communities brings only hardship and sorrows to them and their people. “To get even and make their voices heard, they take to crime and in the end, the destruction in untold”.
Also, closely related to deprivation is regionalism which he noted as a major cause of crime and unrest among people. “People that harbour such regionalist feelings often go to great lengths to commit crimes against other communities. This fact is often ignored by people and the government as they too are caught up in classifications of people by region. It is often that a victim of such regionalism gets influenced and enters the world of crimes,” Chukwuchebem said.
He went on to say that in Nigeria where religion is like an opium, most crimes are committed along religious lines. “Some preachers stoke the embers of violence and urge their adherents to see anyone who is not of the same religion as enemies. The unrest often experienced in some parts of the country, especially in the north, can be traceable to religion”, he added.
Victims of unfair judicial systems, he said, often turn to crime as a last resort and a rebellion against the society. “It often happens that a person is a victim of chance and happens to fall into crimes. Where one is falsely accused or convicted on trumped up charges, chances are that he would become more hardened and filled with anger, he will take up arms against the society. The prisons in Nigeria lacks the capability of reforming criminals and where such is lacking, the victim is thrown into the dungeon with hardened criminals and instead of reformation, he becomes a better criminal having learned from the masters. The declassification of people in prisons is also a major cause of crime creation”, he said.
The Nigeria Police have attributed the increasing cases of missing young ladies and girls being used for ritual purposes in the country to the prevalent hook-up culture pervading society. Omolola Odutola, the Public Relations Officer, Ogun State Police Command, while speaking on a television network, attributed the problem to hook-up and advised a lot of young people to understand the danger in the hook-up culture. “Today, we have lots of reports of missing persons. By the time we start an investigation, not less than 10 young girls and ladies go missing daily. In-depth investigations also reveal that those cases are not by accidents. Most of them are connected to hook-up channels and apps. They fall victim to strangers who casually invite them to unknown places, and eventually fall victim to being used for ritual purposes,” she said.
Odutola said young people believe in ritual wealth, adding that most young Nigerians, especially males, believe that ritual killings can make them rich.