The Nigerian Police Force has appealed to community leaders and traditional institutions to take steps towards tackling the menace of ritual killings in the country.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, made the appeal in a statement on X on Thursday.
Adejobi emphasized the need for collective action to address the rising cases of ritualistic murders that have left many families devastated.
He drew inspiration from the successful collaboration with traditional institutions in combating the Badoo rituals in Ikorodu, Lagos.
He stressed that community leaders and traditional institutions must be involved in the fight against ritual killings, as it is a spiritual issue that requires a holistic approach.
He wrote, “I think our community leaders and traditional institutions should be involved and take a bold step to tackle the menace.
“We adopted a similar approach when we were to tackle Badoo rituals in Ikorodu, Lagos. We can’t apparently curb it if the traditional institution is not interested or involved. It’s more spiritual than legal or physical.
“The police and law enforcement agencies in these areas and the states must incorporate the leaders and the traditional institutions into the fight to curb it.
The police spokesperson also advocated for a separate law to address ritual killings, distinct from murder cases.
He argued that ritual killing is a crime that involves both murder and disrespect to the corpse and ritualism.
“And there must be a described law for ritual killings, not just murder cases. Ritual killing is both murder and disrespect to corpse and ritualism, which should attract its punishment separately.”
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