Some stakeholders, including police commands in Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu states, have attributed the recent rise in ritual killings to the get-rich-quick syndrome among the youth in the South-East.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, the ritual killings among the youth and other crimes such as armed robbery, kidnapping, and cultism have ravaged the zone recently.
These prompted some state governments to establish private security outfits to complement the efforts of security agencies in tackling insecurity in the country.
In Anambra, Governor Charles Soludo inaugurated the ‘Homeland Security Law’ and joint security forces, such as operations Udogachi and Agunechemba, to tackle criminals.
Tochukwu Ikenga, spokesman for the police in Anambra, said some residents of Awka decried the spate of gruesome ritual killings in a survey on the rise of ritual killings in some states of the country.
Ikenga said people committed such crimes for fortification and wealth creation. He said the Anambra government and citizens had joined the police and other security agencies in tackling the menace.
Rachel Yohanna of Davina Care Foundation, Awka, said it was unfortunate that many individuals, especially the youth, engaged in money rituals driven by a quest for quick wealth.
Ms Yohanna identified poverty, unemployment, lack of parental care, and peer pressure as some of the reasons driving ritual killings in the society. She said young women and children were the major victims of ritual killings because of their perceived vulnerability.
Helen Obi, a lawyer, blamed a flashy lifestyle on social media and society, especially religious leaders who idolise the wealthy, even when the source of wealth was illegitimate.
In Ebonyi, the police spokesman, Joshua Ukandu, expressed worry over the spate of ritual killings across the country, adding that the menace was of great concern to the nation.
Ukandu, however, noted that there had been no record or report of ritual killings. He said the command had been proactive in checkmating other crimes in Ebonyi.
On the increasing rate of ritual killings across some states, Ukandu blamed it on the eroding moral fabric of the society and the quest to get quick wealth.
Mathew Unakwe, a legal practitioner in Ebonyi, called for a nationwide campaign against such heinous crimes to build a better environment.
Unakwe blamed the security agencies for the increasing rate of crime in the society, calling on Nigerians, especially the government to do everything possible to eradicate ritual killings.
Ignatius Nwankwo, a political analyst, called for collaborative efforts among security agencies, traditional rulers, schools, and faith-based institutions to check for such crimes.
The spokesman for the police command in Enugu, Daniel Ndukwe, also said, “There are no ritual killings in Enugu State known to the police. We don’t have incidences of ritual killings in Enugu state. I cannot confirm or react to what does not exist in the state.”
Some residents of Nsukka in Nsukka LGA have also blamed the rise in ritual killings for getting rich quickly due to the recognition and respect accorded to rich people.
George Akubue, a lecturer at the Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria Nsukka, said until stakeholders in every community started screening sources of wealth of people especially youths, ritual killings for money making would continue to escalate.
Mr Akubue warned that if nothing serious were done to stop the ugly trend, the security challenges in the country would take a new dimension as more youths would join the bandwagon of get-rich-quick syndrome.
Also speaking, Samuel Ike, a lawyer and rights activist, expressed concern about why these bad boys target young girls for the ritual killings and urged security agencies to brace up to their responsibilities.
