Stakeholders have raised concerns over the rising cases of ritual killings across the country, blaming the menace on economic pressures and moral decadence.
The stakeholders, including stakeholders, including religious and community leaders, legal practitioners and educationist, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states, said that ritual killings had become a significant societal issue.
A survey conducted by NAN in the three states revealed disturbing insights into the growing menace of ritual killings, particularly among the youth.
Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Okitipupa, Ondo State, Pastor Peter Akinyelure, decried the alarming trend of ritual killings in parts of the country, attributing it to the get-rich-quick syndrome which had pervaded the society.
According to him, the love of money and materialism is a major driver of ritual killings, particularly among the youth.
Akinyelure urged religious leaders and parents to intensify efforts to address this issue, highlighting the need for moral training in homes and churches.
Similarly, an Akure-based lawyer, Mr Rotimi Boboye, fingered erosion of core family values as a key factor in the rise of ritual killings in the country.
Boboye stated that many parents, particularly in urban areas, were detached from their children’s lives due to work commitments, leaving them vulnerable to negative influences, including peer pressure.
He also identified lack of proper character development in some educational institutions, saying that they had failed to instill necessary moral values in their students.
Boboye, who emphasised the role of government policies and security forces in curbing this menace, said that lack of modern equipment and thorough investigation by law enforcement agencies had also contributed to the development.
Some police officials in Osun and Ekiti equally echoed these concerns.
For instance, a former Police Public Relations Officer in Osun, CSP Yemisi Opalola, noted that young women were increasingly becoming victims of ritual killings.
“Many victims are reportedly lured by people close to them, which makes the situation more complicated,” she said.
Opalola urged women to be cautious about their movements and to inform their families about their whereabouts, especially when meeting new acquaintances.
The former police spokesperson also warned against flaunting wealth and material possessions on social media, which, according to her, could make some young people to be desperate for money.
In Ekiti, some local community leaders and police official shared similar concerns.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Ekiti, SP Sunday Abutu, said that the police were actively pursuing perpetrators of ritual killings in the state.
Also, a community leader, Chief Sesan Ijaodola, called for joint efforts among religious leaders, traditional rulers and government officials to address the issue.
Meanwhile, legal experts, such as Mr Jimmy Jones and Mrs Dupe Aiyedogbon, decried what they called the failure of some religious bodies to challenge the sources of significant financial donations by youths, which might indicate involvement in illicit activities.
According to the lawyers, legal measures against ritual killings are already in place, with the Criminal Code Act stipulating the death penalty for anyone convicted of such crimes.
However, Mr Michael Ebofin, CEO of Mowalek Centre for Sustainable Community Development, argued that mere enforcement of the laws was not sufficient.
Ebofin identified the poor economic situation, moral decadence among youths and inadequate law enforcement as contributing majorly to the persistence in ritual killings.
In addition to legal measures, Prof. Joshua Aransiola of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, stressed the need for improved security and intelligence-gathering techniques to combat ritual killings.
Aransiola also pointed out that the rise in social media exposure, particularly among youths, had resulted in having less concern for sources of wealth, thus making it easier for ritual killings to thrive in a society focused on mere material gains.
NAN reports that Ekiti has seen an increase in ritual killings, with incidents ranging from the gruesome murder of an elderly woman in 2020 to the attempted ritual murder of a commercial sex worker in 2022.
In February 2025, a 23-year-old university student, who attempted to use his seven-year-old nephew for ritual was arrested by the authorities.
NAN reports that all these cases illustrate the growing trend of ritual killings in the zone, with disturbing reports of the use of human body parts by some criminal elements.
The stakeholders were unanimous in their calls for a multi-faceted approach to addressing ritual killings in Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states.
According to them, efforts should be made to instill moral values in the youth, improve law enforcement and security measures and ensure strict enforcement of existing laws to checkmate ritual killings.
