₦airaland Forum

By Punch Editorial Board

MANY charlatans have made scamming people a lucrative business in Nigeria. Over the years, some native doctors have established an industry that thrives on the gullibility of many youths. They claim to have supernatural powers that can fortify criminals against bullets and arrests.

This partly explains the rise in all forms of criminality in Nigeria. In December 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics released its 2024 Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey. In the report, the NBS noted that over 2.2 million kidnap incidents occurred in Nigeria between May 2023 and April 2024.

Nigerians paid approximately N2.2 trillion to kidnappers as ransom within the same period. The NBS said some 4,142,174 households experienced home robbery incidents within the period.

Money-making rituals are also a big problem. It is called ‘Oke Ite’ (great pot) in the South-East. The belief is that with ‘Oke Ite’, there is unlimited access to wealth. This is acute foolishness.

Elsewhere, especially in the South-West, it is called Yahoo Plus. On the instruction of these fake native doctors, some of the scammers kill people, including their close relatives, to advance their illegal cause.

Last year, the Kogi State Police Command arrested four young men for killing Damilola Olowoyo, 17, a 100-level undergraduate at the Federal University, Lokoja. Her assailants allegedly drugged and lured her to a bush and killed her for ritual purposes.

In 2023, a 20-year-old man called Ridwan allegedly killed his father for rituals in Oshoku village, Ijebu North LGA, Ogun State.

Between January 2021 and January 2022, the West African Network for Peace Building (an NGO), estimated that 185 ritual-related deaths occurred in Nigeria.

The problem revolves around some influential politicians who crave power. They flock to shrines to acquire power and win elections. Some were dragged there by their godfathers to swear an oath of allegiance.

There is every need to address this perfidy in society. The Anambra State Government has shown a good example. In January, it enacted the Anambra Homeland Security Law 2025.

Under the law, native doctors are mandated to register with the state government. Those who claim to have supernatural powers must prove it or be ready to be prosecuted and possibly imprisoned for six years on conviction with an option of a fine of N20m or both.

Last February, officers of the state security outfit, Agunechemba, arrested some self-styled native doctors who claimed to possess extraordinary powers. They included Chidozie Nwangwu, popularly called Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki (hen’s egg that breaks the palm kernel), and Ekene Igboekweze, known as Eke Hit. The state government sealed Igboekweze’s shrine at Umuofor village, Okija, in Ihiala LGA.

In 2004, the police in Anambra had similarly invaded the dreaded Okija Shrine and arrested over 40 native doctors, keepers, and attendants. They discovered over 70 corpses and skulls in the shrine.

In the past few years, the Imo State Police Command said it arrested and arraigned over 10 native doctors linked to kidnapping, ritual killings, armed robbery, and sundry crimes. Recently, it warned unlicensed native doctors to leave the state or risk being arrested and prosecuted.

Other state governments should adopt this, ensuring that corruption at the highest level is punished. This will partly show the youths that crime does not pay and that whoever gets involved will pay.

If there is no crime industry, most of the native doctors will not thrive. The youths should understand that only legitimate business, not voodoo brings wealth.

Governments should expand the economy and create opportunities for these youths to do legitimate business. As of the first quarter of 2024, youth unemployment in Nigeria was 8.4 per cent. This is alarming. It should be addressed.

Source: https://punchng.com/youths-and-native-doctors/

Unfortunately, the people being addressed here will not read this because, it's either they are too uneducated or too lazy to read.

Our poor education system is our biggest undoing. Imagine someone believing that going to a road junction to drop some dirty things would make them rich🤑. How many road junctions did Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg visit?

SUNNINO:
Keep quiet,if you don't about something.

If not that you'd be too lazy to read, I would have asked you to check out this short article The Hidden Cost Of Cursing: How Profanity Can Affect Your Mind And Life. You'll see what an expert said about this your ugly behavior and, if you are wise, you change.

Many of you think you're wiser for picking quarrels here and there. You don't know that you are damaging yourselves.

Igbo:
Deveropers
Ego gi
They can use their mothers for Ego anu

Bro, if you don't read something well before commenting, you disgrace yourself. Go and reread the editorial. It took examples from North Central, Southwest and Southeast. But, it said that only Southeast (Anambra and Imo) are addressing the issue. Thanks.

Soludo is doing well n cleansing the land.

There is a connection between this and kidnapping

All these has been in existence before the colonial British, Cos I can't call dem masters,

Even in india, u will see all of these

We get hard issues here not native doctor,
Kk,
Let soludo go to ondo,ibadan, ekiti and advise the governor's to do dsame

See person wey dey give youths billions of naira

Just like our billionaire chestbeaters wey dey hustle La Casera, phone charger, and gala in Lagos traffic

BTW, that last photo, it seems it was printed off social media

This is serious

Deveropers
Ego gi
They can use their mothers for Ego anu

The future is bleak.

Poverty isn't lack of money, it's lack of knowledge

Jan koum invented WhatsApp and sold it for $19billion , he did not visit any native doctor for rituals

The future?

I don't know what to say

What a miserable life people choose to live

When someone tells you to give your life to Christ and always pray like you life depends on it, it's a life saving advice. The heart of men is desperately wicked.

So no Yoruba governor can do this same thing to Skull Miners in the south west?


This people are pure hypocrite.


👿👿👿👿👿

🙆🙆🙆🤮🤮🤮

My heart bleeds each time I read stories like this. How do you enjoy a wealth made through voodoo ritual. It never ends well.

I think public execution should be brought back...the youths have lost it.

This as a result of reduced purchasing power if you’re doing legitimate business .


Government is destroying family unit. People are cheering them on

Even babes they cash out from the business

Nigeria is hard!!!

I can help you do all your school assignments and even write your project for you.

who started all this and even encouraged it? the youth.?

This is the everyday lifestyle of many men and women in the upper class age in society, politcian or not. Go to any federal or state secretariat at night or weekends and see the level of JAZZ these people bring in to FORTIFY their offices. Search all those AGBADA in house of assembly and see those with tortoise and chameleon and etc around their waist and body.

Do you really think we would see less of these juju things if SOCIAL MEDIA was alive in the 40s and 50s up to Year 2000? Nollywood only threw light on the happenings, Nollywood didn't promote anything because it still would have been going on with high speed, Nollywood or not.

We're not ready. Let's kill this tribal sentiments first then we can progress as a nation

Lol.

If this thing works, why are their people still wallowing in poverty?

government at all levels should enact law against skullership in the sophisticated region, the kind of skull mining going on in that region is overwhelming..if care is not taken people will be going around in that region with their head missing....

Great initiative. All so called native doctors should be profiled , registered and regulated to be validated. Anyone violating this new initiative should be charged for ritual killing and kidnapping

One idiot rented our property in the village, few weeks later Yahoo boys suddenly started showing for "powers". When we confronted him, he fought back and threatened fire and brinestorm. Witnesses and neighbours fled for there safety, lol. On top our property where our fathers grave is? My brothers gave him rugged physical madness!
30minutes later, he was beging for mercy and refund. Within an hour he fled with his properties. Strong men indeed. Scammers

2.2 million kidnapping case since 2023 but some Animals are saying security has improved, MAY Allah reward all those supporting evil because of tribalism with the evils they are supporting

Y

Jesus is the solution and the answer to all problems of human beings