Institutional Reforms: Key To Ending Greed And Ritual Killings -By Alaro Basit

Past records and extensive cultural exploration document the practice of human sacrifice and ritual killings in Nigeria especially in communities where it is done mainly to bring prosperity to the tenure of a royalty, spiritual fortification of traditional personalities, marking the end of a royalty, appease deities and to revel significant festivals.

With black market for the purchase of human body parts in the country on the rise for the sole purpose of getting wealthy or upgrading wealth status, the fundamental question on the lips of many Nigerians is: why does this cruel act continue to thrive in spite of civilization? People get triggered in to ritual killing nowadays due to greediness, lack of contentment, lack of positive family values, and long – age cultural acclimatization by the people.

There is also a nexus between greed and ritual killings due to few people with established status found wanting in the act while poor and middle-class category of people who desired quick success, rather than climbing the ladder of success have also been mostly exposed in recent months. While addressing unemployment is important in order to create jobs for the teeming youths, the argument of poor economy as the principal reason driving people in to ritual killings is untenable and invalid. The problem is more of greediness and the need for cultural reorientation, rather than economic.

In a 2017 report by the Nigerian Police which is still relevant till now, the Police identify states such as Lagos, Kaduna, Ogun, Port – Harcourt, Abuja and Anambra as hotspots of ritual killing in Nigeria. The trend has now spread massively to virtually all states in the South – West, South – South, and the South – East.

Addressing the problem entails a multipronged strategy prioritizing consolidating Nigeria’s institutional framework with the necessary operational architecture. The National Orientation Agency (NOA) should be mandated by the federal government and be better empowered to wage an aggressive national campaign targeting encouraging family values, inculcating the culture of hardwork and discourage bad peer group among youths.

The Federal Ministry of Information and culture and other relevant ministry like the Ministry of Justice should also summon the political will and form a partnership in advising the President to send a bill to the National Assembly abolishing age long traditions requiring human sacrifice in the traditional institutions. This will send a strong warning to the general public and perpetrators of ritual killings of government readiness to end this scourge once and for all.

The Ministry of Information and culture should also propose a specific direct legal act in place to be debated and approved by the National Assembly after preponderance of submission in the floor of the house. The objective of such act will be to regulate traditional institutions just as how the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) regulate Churches while the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) regulate Mosques.

Alaro Basit is a student of the Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile – Ife, Osun – State.