Many gruesome murders, especially those throwing up mutilated corpses, have always been attributed to the activities of ritualists. Also, in many parts of the country, the police have uncovered ritual dens and rescued fortunate victims. Even the Nigeria entertainment industry, Nollywood, is not left out in promoting the get-rich-quick syndrome, especially through money rituals. But is the popular belief about money rituals a myth or reality? PAUL OKAH reports.
Is money ritual a myth or reality? This is a question many people have always struggled to find answers to over the years as the subject is often the cause of arguments amongst different classes of Nigerians.
Often times, many wealthy people have been labelled as ritualists sometimes by the poor, especially when the latter class cannot explain the source of wealth of the wealthy.
Also, there are tales of security agencies reportedly uncovering dens belonging to “ritualists” in different parts of the country, sometimes rescuing “victims,” in addition to recovering mutilated corpses and arresting culprits.
More disheartening is the fact that many religious leaders, especially pastors and some self-acclaimed prophets of God are said to have been arrested by the police for their complicity in the murder of unsuspecting Nigerians for ritual purposes.
Moreover, over the years, Nigeria’s movie industry, popularly known as Nollywood, seems to have implanted in the minds of Nigerians that one can only make it in life if he engages in money rituals, as opposed to hard work.
Starting with the lead actor, Kenneth Okonkwo 9who starred as Andy Okeke), in Living in Bondage, a movie believed to have laid the foundation in the early 1990s for what is today known as Nollywood, Blood Money, starring Zack Orji, Abuja Boys, Millionaires Club, and many other titles focuses on money rituals.
Today, actors like Kanayo O. Kanayo, Clem Ohameze, Tony Umez, and a new generation of actors like Yul Edochie, Jerry Amilo and many others are synonymous with money rituals as long as Nollywood is concerned, inadvertently sending the wrong message to Nigerian families.
The fall-out in society is the increase in murder of innocent children and helpless Nigerians at different times, which are sometimes attributed to the activities of ritualists in different parts of the country.
The Otokoto saga
Though it occurred more than two decades ago, the Otokoto saga remains one of the stories of money rituals Nigerians can never forget in a hurry, especially those from the South-east.
From available information on the internet, on September 19, 1996, while hawking boiled groundnuts, an innocent 11-year-old boy, Anthony Ikechukwu Okoronkwo, was lured into the famous Otokoto Hotel in the Amakohia area of Owerri, Imo state and murdered for ritual purposes by Innocent Ekeanyanwu, a 32-year-old gardener working with the hotel.
Ekeanyanwu severed the boy’s head from his body, disemboweled his torso, removed his liver, genitals and other parts, sorted out the organs, packed Okoronkwo’s head inside a polythene bag and buried his remains.
Ekeanyanwu then took the polythene bag containing the boy’s head and headed for the house of a highly-influential figure, Chief Leonard Unaogu, who needed the fresh head.
However, a commercial motorcyclist, whom he stopped to take him to Unaogu’s house, realised that what his passenger was carrying inside a polythene bag was a fresh human head that was still dripping with blood and quickly alerted the police, who intercepted Ekeanyanwu and launched an investigation into young Okoronkwo’s murder.
Police officers, who swooped upon the Otokoto hotel, discovered not only the shallow grave containing that of the little boy, but also graves containing other victims with their decomposing and dismembered corpses.
When the news broke on September 24, 1996, with a picture of Ekeanyanwu holding Okoronkwo’s decapitated head, thousands of residents went on rampage, destroying the Otokoto hotel, lynching and destroying property belonging to the people indicted by Ekeanyanwu and provoked trials that lasted for years.
Ekeanyanwu was remanded in police custody while awaiting trial, but died four days later; allegedly from food poisoning, though he had made confessional statements implicating influential people in Owerri, leading to the arrest, prosecution and jail or execution of many culprits.
Chief Vincent Duru (alias Otokoto), one of the men convicted in the celebrated case of the ritual murder, was reportedly hanged on November 13, 2016, 13 years after his 2003 conviction.
Writing on the Otokoto saga, with the title, “The story of Otokoto money ritual killing of 1996,” Nzekwe Gerald Uchenna of the Movement for the Emancipation of Nigerian Youths (MENY) concluded in 2018 that Nigeria is still in the grips of ritual killers, almost two decades after the Otokoto saga.
“The same factors that gave birth to the 1996 Otokoto ritual killings are still in place today: poverty, irrational beliefs in supernatural powers that lead people to believe money can be made from flesh without doing any work, weak/corrupt law enforcement agencies and a super-slow judicial system. The presence of these factors explains why after bloody Otokoto saga, the country still had to face the Okija/Ogwugwu Shrine saga in Anambra state and the Soka forest horror of Oyo state.
“The Nigerian disease is still there – yet to be healed. We should stop this get rich quick syndrome. Otokoto happened as far back as 1996, when many youths who are involved in Yahoo-Yahoo, Yahoo Plus, ritual money, etc, were not even born then. Funny enough, all those who are involved in human ritual killing don’t end well. This is because the devil has no free gift. So, youth be careful. Say NO to blood money, human ritual killing, kidnapping and short-cut to wealth,” he said.
Unfortunately, Uchenna’s admonitions have not been heeded by either young or old people in Nigeria as cases of ritual killings occur almost on a daily basis in different parts of the country.
Father kills son for beheading mother
Just last month, tragedy struck in Iheaka community in Igboeze South local government area of Enugu state as a man, who was suspected to have beheaded his mother for ritual purposes, was equally killed by his own father.
The suspect, Mr. Kenneth Ugwu, who was a spare parts dealer based in Lagos, was said to have returned to the village to visit his parents with the intention of committing the crime.
An eyewitness, identified simply as Miss Adaeze, told reporters that Kenneth, upon returning from Lagos, offered to help his mother in the farm where she had gone to cut palm fruit.
Adaeze said, “When they got to the farm, rather than cut the palm fruit, he cut off the mother’s head, put it in a black polythene bag. When he got home, the father inquired about the whereabouts of his wife, but he said she was on her way home. Kenneth quickly rushed to the bathroom to take a bath and leave for Lagos.
“His father, Cyril Ugwu, suspicious of his son’s sudden decision to travel back to Lagos, went to check the content of the polythene bag only to find the severed head of his wife. He was said to have quickly loaded his double-barrel gun and waited for the son to come out. The already infuriated father shot his son as he stepped out to leave for Lagos.
“Most of the villagers who rushed to the scene broke down in tears, while the men among them went into the bush in search of the dead body. Her corpse was later found dumped on a footpath with several machete cuts all over her body.”
The police public relations officer, Mr. Ndukwe Ekea, told reporters that investigation into the matter was on-going.
Man kills ex-wife in Ogun
Similarly, in December, last year, the Intelligence Response Team of the Nigeria Police Force arrested a gang of 13 suspected ritual killers over the death of one Abosede Iyanda.
The team arrested the gang in Ogun state following a petition by one Segun Adeyemi alleging that his daughter, 30-year-old Abosede, suddenly disappeared on her way back from office on November 3, 2019.
According to the police, the gang has a herbalist, Islamic cleric and a pastor, stating that other members of the team were still at large. According to media reports, the woman used to be married to Segun Olaniyi, one of the suspects, who she visited at his office before she was killed.
In his confession Olaniyi, said, “I am now a native doctor. I learnt welding before I switched to this work. Abosede called me on the phone that she was coming to see me. I asked her the reason for her visit and she said she wanted financial assistance to boost her business. I called a friend named Akanbi to come around. Already, we had a work at hand; so, Akanbi suggested that we use her for the ritual instead.
“We killed her beside my house. I took the head, two hands and part of the meat. I sold the head for N40, 000. I sold one of the hands to an orthodox doctor named Murideen for N15, 000 and the other hand to another person for N15, 000. I sold the flesh to one alfa named Sunday Akinyemi (N10, 000), Rasaq (N5, 000) and Mustafa (N5, 000).
“I used part of the flesh to produce powdered medicine which if taken with hot drink would attract customers. At times, we kill the husbands of some of our customers to turn them into widows so that they would join us in bringing victims to be slaughtered.”
Man kills girlfriend in Lagos
Also, on December 28, 2019, the police in Ogun state arrested a 23-year-old man, Adeeko Owolabi, for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Favour Daley-Oladele – a final-year Sociology student of Lagos State University (LASU).
The suspect, police said, was arrested together with a 42-year-old self-acclaimed pastor of a white garment church, Segun Philip, who, it was learnt, requested for the deceased’s heart.
The deceased was reported to have left home to an unknown destination since December 8, 2019, and had not been seen since then; hence, she was reported missing by her parents at Mowe Police Station.
In a statement on December 29, 2019, the Ogun state PPRO, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, explained that, upon the report, the DPO Mowe division, SP Marvis Jayeola, detailed his crack detectives to unravel the mystery behind the sudden disappearance of the 22-year-old girl.
He said, “The detectives went into full-scale technical and forensic investigation of the case and their efforts paid off when the movement of the deceased was traced to a white garment church in far away Ikoyi-Ile in Osun state, being pastored by one Segun Philip.
“On getting to the church, the self-acclaimed pastor was promptly arrested, but he was quick to inform the detectives that the girl was brought to him by her boyfriend, Adeeko Owolabi, who was still within the vicinity of the church.
“The said boyfriend was traced and apprehended immediately. On interrogation, Adeeko Owolabi confessed to the police that the deceased was his girlfriend and that he lured her to Ikoyi-Ile where he had perfected plans with the so-called pastor, Segun Philip, to use her for money making ritual.”
He said further: “He stated further that while the girl was sleeping, the pastor gave him a pestle with which he used to smash the head of the girl and the pastor quickly used a knife to cut off her neck, ripped-open her chest and removed her heart, which he used in preparing a concoction for him and his mother to eat.
“When asked what pushed him to such devilish act, Owolabi explained that he decided to go into money ritual because things are not going well with his parents economically most especially his mother, who used to be the breadwinner of the family, adding that, when he sought for assistance from the pastor, he was asked to bring a human being for that purpose and the available person at that time was his girlfriend.”
7-yr-old twins murdered in Delta
Perhaps, the most gruesome of ritual murders happened last month, specifically on Friday, March 6, 2020, when Chiagozie and Chidalu Agwunobi, seven-year-old male twins of the Oliseh clan in Oko Ogbele community, Oshimili South LGA of Delta state, went missing and their dismembered bodies later found in a bush, with allegations of they being cruelly killed by their uncle, Onuwa Oliseh, for ritual purposes.
According to Punch, Onuwa reportedly lured the twins into the bush within the neighbourhood after they returned from school, butchered them, removed some of their body parts for money rituals and dumped the remains.
Investigation by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team in the state led to the arrest of Onuwa’s accomplice, Kelvin Uzor, an 18-year-old primary school leaver, who is also a relation of the twins.
Uzor, in his statement, admitted the twins were killed for rituals, but denied partaking in the murder. He said one of his friends, Chukwudi, told him of a traditionalist in Anambra, who could help them to perform money rituals with children not above 12-years-old, adding that he informed Onuwa, who agreed to the plan.
He said, “I wanted to become a young chief because most of the young men I know did not work as hard as I did and now they are millionaires. I am a farmer and hardworking, but I was not making enough money. I have no savings. That was why I somehow agreed to be part of the plan. Onuwa convinced me it was the fastest way to make money and that most of our colleagues made money through that means.
“My greatest mistake was that I did not inform my family when Onuwa suggested that we should use the twins. I love the twins so much and their parents are nice. I cautioned him, but I don’t know that he would still go ahead to kill them. They normally went to his house to play; so it was easy for him to take them out without anyone being suspicious. I was not in the bush when he killed them.”
The remains of the twins were taken to the General Hospital, Igbuzor, while IRT detectives, led by DCP Abba Kyari, had launched a manhunt for the fleeing suspects.
“Police got information that on March 6, the twins were missing from their parents’ house. Their bodies were later found in the bush on March 8, with some parts of their bodies mutilated. Their eyes, hands and private parts were missing. Police began investigation and generated enough intelligence that led to the arrest of Uzor. He confessed that they were a three-man gang and wanted to do money ritual with the body parts,” a senior officer said.
Poverty, ignorance, others to blame
In a chat with Blueprint Weekend, an analyst and social commentator, Mr. Matthew Ogbonnia, said poverty, ignorance, and poor parental upbringing are largely to blame for ritual killings in Nigeria, even as he demanded that Nollywood should be overhauled or banned for misleading Nigerians and presenting the country in a bad image to the world.
He said, “One underlying factor in all the cases of ritual killings across the country is that of poverty. Many poor people in Nigeria dream of living the type of lifestyles exclusive to the rich and the wealthy in society, but ignorantly believe that killing people and ‘harvesting’ their body parts will replace hard work.
“Another factor is the faulty foundation laid by parents by way of not educating their wards on the realities of life. When parents fail to give their children the needed education on how to work hard to be successful in life, the foundation is already faulty and the children will definitely be misled by mischievous people in society.”
He said further, “Furthermore, Nollywood is not helping matters. I don’t owe anybody any apology, but those at the National Film and Video Censors Board are not doing their duties. Nollywood movies are not x-raying our cultures as a people. Instead, what you see in Nollywood is all about money rituals, prostitution, fraud, diabolism and other negative things.
“The system should be overhauled or Nollywood banned because the industry is not adding anything to our progress as a nation, save for presenting us as a nation of witches and wizards, fraudsters, prostitutes and other negative things. It is annoying when you spend hours watching a movie for education and entertainment, but end up disenchanted because of negative contents.”
Fashola on Nollywood
Interestingly, in February, this year, during the fourth annual public lecture/symposium organised by the United Action for Change, where he was the guest speaker, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, asked film makers in Nigeria to stop promoting money rituals and kidnapping in their movies.
Last year, there were stories of fraudsters using women’s pants and sanitary pads for money rituals, but Fashola discounted the belief, saying there’s no connection between paper (money) and cotton (pants).
Speaking on the topic: ‘Insecurity: Taking actions against organised crime,’ Fashola said Nollywood could be re-inforcing kidnapping through the belief system that human skulls and other parts of human body could be used for money rituals, adding that money rituals, as often depicted in Nollywood movies, is a myth.
“It is not true, or how does that happen? What is the connection between paper (money) and cotton (pants) or has anybody seen cotton money before? Those of us who have influence and authority must take positions to see to the reversal of this kind of beliefs. Some people believe that if you get a man’s head or a woman’s body parts, they could be turned into money.
“It’s not true! And when you ask people who believe in it if they have seen it happen before, they tell you someone said they had seen it. However, it has become a reinforced belief through entertainment, social media and Nollywood. How can human head bring money? Money is paper invented by man, not God. They put the paper in a machine to print what we call money and that is the only place money comes from,” he said.
He said further that “But the challenge is the belief system. Just think about how many people have been missing — through kidnapping — because some people believe that it exists. The police could tell us the number of people they have apprehended with human parts, such as skulls. This belief system must go.
“Therefore, all of us, including those who make the films, must reverse the story and start selling a new story that money is printed in a machine and not through any other way like money rituals.”
