The desperation to get rich quick, especially
among the younger generation across the country, leading to many heinous
crimes, has raised concerns in many quarters. YEMI OLAKITAN takes
a look at the trend
The crave for money by all means, especially
among the younger generation has become an alarming trend in Nigeria, fueling
fear, suspicion, and calls for urgent intervention.
From gruesome murders linked to money rituals
or organ harvesting to shocking cases of body parts being used for alleged
supernatural powers, the phenomenon exposes deep-rooted socio-economic,
cultural, and psychological issues.
A classic example of this growing and alarming
phenomenon is an incident that occurred on January 15, 2025 in Abuja. A
32-year-old self-proclaimed Gospel singer, Timileyin Ajayi, admitted to killing
his alleged girlfriend, Salome Eleojo Adaidu, over suspected infidelity on her.
Ajayi, who has been remanded in the custody of
the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Nasarawa State Police
Command in Lafia, was accused of murdering the 24-year-old National Youth
Service Corps (NYSC) member, at his residence.
Salome was serving at NICON Insurance in Abuja
and was killed during a visit to Ajayi’s residence in New Karshi, Karu Local
Government Area, Nasarawa State.
“I killed her because we don’t have each other
all the time, it’s not something I planned. It happened on that day and it
happened,’’ confessed the killer gleefully.
Adding, ‘‘Not that I have the plan in mind,
she was cheating. She hides most of the things from me most of the time. I got
to know from her phone. I saw her chatting with other guys on the phone that
was why I decided.”
Appearing frail from injuries inflicted by a
mob before his arrest, Ajayi confessed without remorse or emotion. When asked
if he regretted his actions, he said, “No. I don’t have any regrets because
life is reciprocal, that is what I thought.”
However, Salome’s family refuted any claims of
a relationship between her and the suspect. Her elder sister, Esther Adaidu,
described Ajayi as a stranger to the family and demanded justice. “This
so-called Timi guy, we don’t know him.
We had never seen him until we were called up
to tell us that this guy murdered and dismembered our sister. I demand and need
justice to be served to this guy sitting over there because he is the one that
murdered my sister and he confirmed it to me,” she said.
Salome’s case is one of many such gruesome
killings in Nigeria. Observers said Ajayi’s story was cooked up and that he is
one of the ritualists killing young ladies and trading their body parts for
money.
Timi’s case was one of the too many cases all
over the country of criminals murdering innocent young women and butchering
them to pieces.
In Timi’s case, it was reported that he did
cut the body of Salome to pieces and put them in polythene bags. In another
recent incident, a suspected ritualist killed and dismembered a finalyear
student of the Kwara State College of Education in Ilorin, Kwara State.
Lawal Hafsoh Yetunde was killed by her
boyfriend whom she met on social media. The suspected killer, after the
gruesome killing, dismembered her body for alleged ritual purposes.
According to reports, Yetunde went missing on
Monday, February 10, 2025. She was at a naming ceremony when she received a
call from a friend. According to sources, she dropped her food to answer the
call and then left immediately.
A source disclosed, “Since then, we’ve been
searching for her everywhere. But no one knew her whereabouts. On Tuesday, her
parents reported the case to the Oja Oba Police Station in Ilorin. The police
requested her phone number and used it to track her last call.
The call was traced to an individual living in
the Offa Garage District area of Ilorin, although his family house is in
Isalekuto. “The suspect was arrested but initially denied knowledge of the
lady’s whereabouts.
However, when the police searched his house,
he confessed that the lady was in his area and had died from an asthma attack
after he called her to come over.
“Upon further investigation, the police found
the lady’s body, dismembered and hidden in a bowl, along with the equipment
used to dismember her.
The suspect is now at the police headquarters
in Ilorin. “Disturbingly, evidence found in the suspect’s house suggests this
may not be his first offence.
A table in his room appeared to be equipped
with tools used to dismember bodies,” Meanwhile, the Kwara State Police
Command, through its spokesman, Adetoun EjireAdeyemi, said investigations are
ongoing over the matter.
Earlier this month, police authorities in Akwa
Ibom State began a probe into the gruesome murder of a make-up artist, Emrich
Effanga. Effanga, who was allegedly killed by her boyfriend, identified as
Ndifreke.
In an interview with a retired cleric of the
African Methodist Church and Septuagenarian, Pa Theophilus, he said, “Evil
communication corrupts good manners. You can actually see that there is a
pattern in many of the murders reported by the media.
The victims are young women. “Their bodies
were dismembered. This points to one single conclusion: it is a network of
gangs targeting young women to be lured through romance scams, by their
purported boyfriends or lovers.
This is a challenge for the Nigerian Police
and they must unravel it and put an end to it.” “It always begins from the
university campuses.
While cult groups and confraternities thrive
in Nigerian higher institutions beat anyone’s imagination. It appears, however,
that these cult groups have tended to move out of the campuses to mainstream
society to perpetrate heinous crimes.
The responsibility lies on the hands of
authorities to put an end to this. ‘’If we will all follow the instructions of
our Lord Jesus Christ, in the book of Matthew 22:39, which says, love your
neighbour as yourself and love God with all your heart.
There is no way one will do harm to his
neighbors. It’s the lack of the fear of God and evil company, mixing with the
wrong crowd added with the craze for fast money at all costs, these are the
root causes of these menace.’’
In a viral video on social media, an unnamed
individual had taken his girlfriend to a hotel room and tied her up; tooth and
neck with plans to kill her for ritual purposes.
However, his plot was exposed by the hotel
security guard who overheard him on a phone call asking his co-conspirator
whether they should bring the girl to the ritual place or ‘‘we should do the
ritual at the hotel room.’’ He was caught and handed over to the police.
On February 16, 2024, the Ogun State Police
Command arrested seven persons in connection with the disappearance of one
Sulaimon Adijat, a 35-year-old woman, who was reported missing by her parents.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO),
Omolola Odutola, disclosed that the Divisional Police Officer of Onipanu
Divisional headquarters received a report of a missing person on January 9, at
about 1000hrs.
She said one Sulaimon Adijat, a female, aged
35 years, was invited out on a date by one Adebayo Azeez, a male, of Ajegunle
Road, Atan Ota in Ogun State.
She noted that since then the said lady had
not been seen despite frantic efforts to locate her and that her mobile phone
had been switched off since she was reported missing.
Odutola stated that a tactical team,
specifically the anti-kidnapping unit of the Command, was drafted to unravel
the mystery behind her disappearance.
She disclosed that the team embarked on a
technical-based investigation, which led to the arrest of the seven suspects,
who participated actively in the abduction and eventual murder of the missing
lady.
The suspects include; Sheriff Agbai,
Osojieahen Alioneitouria; Samuel Monday, an herbalist; Peter Oluwalolese, a
prophet; Jamiu Yusuf, another prophet; Abidemi Moses, another herbalist; and
Adebayo Azeez.
According to the police spokesperson,
“investigation revealed that on 19 November 2023, one Sheriff Agbai ‘male’, and
Osojieahen Alioneitouria ‘male’, contacted Oluwo Samuel Monday ‘male’, fondly
called Oluwo Mandela, to perform money ritual known as ‘Oshole’ that can
produce N200 million within seven days!
“And Oluwo Samuel Monday charged the duo of
Agbai, and Alioneitouria the sum of N800, 000 and agreed to prepare the
materials for the money ritual.”
In furtherance of his criminal intention, Mr
Monday reportedly contacted Mr Oluwalolese, who was not new in the trade of
human parts, to source for a lady between the ages of 18 and 20 years to
deliver her mutilated body parts, specifically the head, two breasts, private
part and her two wrists, to be used for the money ritual.’’
Chilling discoveries
In another development, the Anambra State
Government demolished a hotel harbouring over 30 secret graves, a shrine, and
live ammunition.
The hotel, Udoka Golden Point Hotel and
Suites, also known as “La Cruise Hotel,” was located along the Onitsha-Owerri
Road and was identified as a hotspot for kidnapping, ritual killings and other
criminal activities.
The state’s security unit, Agunechemba,
carried out the operation, dubbed “Operation Udo Ga-Achi,” and discovered a
chilling array of incriminating evidence, including; over 30 secret graves,
meticulously sectioned off on the top floor, a shrine with live cartridges and
ammunition, a pot containing blood, seized and taken to the SARS Office in
Awkuzu, feathers and other ritual items.
They also found Army uniforms and live
cartridges. Christian Aburime, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Chukwuma
Soludo, confirmed the demolition and emphasised that the community had long
suspected illicit activities at the hotel.
Residents had reportedly heard gunshots at
night but were too afraid to report them. The demolition is part of a broader
security initiative under the newly enacted Homeland Security Law of 2025.
The state government had warned that
properties linked to crimes like kidnapping, robbery, or murder will be
demolished, and their owners prosecuted.
Causes
Why are ritual killings on the rise? Who are
the masterminds behind these dark acts? And what can be done to stop the
bloodshed? These questions are regularly burning in the minds of concerned
Nigerians.
Ritual killings involve the murder of
individuals, often with their body parts harvested, for spiritual or
supernatural purposes or for sale. The belief is that such sacrifices can bring
wealth, power, protection, or political or material success.
These acts are often carried out by
individuals seeking quick riches, politicians desperate for power, or occult
groups operating in secrecy.
While such practices have existed in parts of
Nigeria for decades, recent years have seen a disturbing rise, with social
media and get-rich-quick mentalities driving more young people into these
deadly activities.
Many perpetrators of ritual killings believe
in the concept of ‘blood money,’ the idea that sacrificing a human life can
attract sudden riches.
With Nigeria’s economic hardship and high
unemployment rates, many desperate youths fall prey to false promises from
spiritualists and herbalists who claim to have the power to make them wealthy
overnight.
Some politicians and influential figures are
rumoured to engage in ritual killings to secure power, protection, or electoral
victories. The belief is that certain sacrifices can guarantee dominance over
opponents or attract supernatural favour.
Numerous cult groups and underground societies
perform ritual sacrifices as initiation rites or to strengthen their influence.
These groups, often involving students and
urban gangs, carry out killings to prove loyalty and access perceived mystical
powers. Certain traditional beliefs and occult rituals promote the use of human
body parts for charms, potions, or spiritual fortification.
Some native doctors and self-proclaimed
‘Onisegun’ herbalists exploit these beliefs, encouraging ritual killings for
personal gain. The concept of Yahoo Plus, a popular slang in Nigeria’s local
parlance, is another dimension that has taken Nigerian society by storm.
The term Yahoo Yahoo was popularly used to
describe advance fee fraud that has become pervasive among Nigerian youths.
Yahoo Plus seems to be a step higher than Yahoo Yahoo, according to New
Telegraph investigations.
This involves ritual killings, organ
harvesting and cultic rings. There are too many cases in the news in recent
times putting the lives of young girls and women in danger since it appears
that these killers mostly target young women and girls.
Tackling the menace
Mr Bori Moses, CEO of Oluwabori Global noted
that the rise of social media and Nollywood movies portraying sudden wealth and
‘blood money’ rituals have worsened the problem.
Many youths now believe that human sacrifices
can bring instant success, leading to a surge in ritualrelated crimes. Moses
said, ‘‘Nollywood movie producers must respond drastically to the problem we
are facing today.
For years, they have produced hundreds of
money ritual stories in their movies to the extent that our youth have come to
believe that it was possible to become rich through the shedding of human
blood. Our youths have failed to separate reality from fiction.
They have now come to believe that the road to
wealth and their desire for cars, all the toys they desire can be found in
blood money. It got to a point that once you see Kanoyo O. Kanayo in a movie,
you know it’s a money ritual movie, although the end of money ritual stories
are usually tragic, the youths do not mind as long as they have the wealth for
a season before they die,’’ he noted.
Eminent cleric of the Yoruba Ifa traditional
religion, Baba Yemi Elebunibon also made the same point in an interview, he
said, ‘‘the way we call ourselves, is the way we will be described in the
outside world.’’
He narrated an incident in Brazil, where he interacted
with a young woman whom he asked to follow him to Nigeria and become his wife.
‘‘The young woman replied, saying she will not follow him because he will use
her for money rituals.
The Baba said he was alarmed and demanded to
know why she said that, the young woman said, that was what she saw in Nigerian
movies. ‘‘Our movie makers must do better, they must find stories from our
history and culture that depict heroism, courage and charity instead of
dwelling endlessly on the subject of money rituals.’’
In an Interview with New Telegraph, Mrs Shola
Abimbola, an educationist at a Mission school, in Ogun State, disclosed that
the Police should question Ajayi well.
‘‘He is probably a member of a cultic ring
specialised in human rituals or organ harvesting. Ritual killings have become a
menace in our society today, the government ought to rise up and take action.
‘‘I know they are busy with the fight against
terrorism and all that but they need to wake up to this menace as well. Ritual
killings are worse than terrorism these days because they work quietly and
silently, it seems to be that they are a network of criminals targeting mostly
young women in the society.
‘‘There should be an agency for the
Investigations of homicides in Nigeria; an agency that would be responsible for
Intelligence gathering, arrests and prosecution, a special arm of the Nigerian
police that will focus on homicidal syndicates so they can daily burst their
nets.
They are all around us with the desperate
drive for money. I am convinced that there is a mafia-like organization
involved in these killings. It’s getting too much in the news.’’ The Nigerian
government must implement stricter penalties for those involved in ritual
killings.
Law enforcement agencies should crack down on
herbalists, occultists, and cult groups promoting such practices. Yahoo boys or
Yahoo Plus boys should suffer the harshest punishments possible under the
Nigerian legal system.
This is crucial to deter others who may be
tempted to follow their steps. It is also necessary to invest in Nigerian
intelligence infrastructure and technology.
The federal and state governments must invest
in training and retraining our secret service operations. The lives of our
children are in danger, especially the female gender.
They must invest in technology and learn from
advanced policing operations from more advanced nations. There also is an
urgent need to educate the citizens, especially young people, on the dangers of
ritual killings.
Religious and community leaders must work together
to debunk the myths surrounding “blood money.” While traditional medicine is
part of Nigeria’s heritage, there must be stronger oversight to prevent the
abuse of rituals for criminal purposes.
Many ritual killings stem from economic
desperation. Providing better job opportunities, youth empowerment programs,
sports development and social welfare can help reduce the temptation to seek
wealth through deadly means.
At crossroads
Ritual killings in Nigeria are not just about
crime; they reflect deeper social issues; poverty, greed, ignorance, and a
distorted value system. To stop this deadly trend, Nigerians must confront the
root causes and reject the glorification of wealth at any cost.
The question remains: Will Nigeria wake up to
the horror of ritual killings and put an end to this nightmare, or will the
bloodshed continue? The answer lies in collective action and a shift in
societal values.
