As part of its efforts to stem the rising cases of ritual killings in the society, the Ogun State Police Command said it would embark on advocacy against the menace in the new year.
The state Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, disclosed this while speaking with journalists on Sunday in Abeokuta.
Alamutu noted that the state remains the safest in the country, but the command is confronted with peculiar challenges especially the new trend of ritual killings.
He warned parents to caution their children to desist from any social vices, saying the police would not condone any form of criminality in the state in the new year.
Ogun State has had a fair share of frequent cult clashes in the outgoing year, especially in the Sagamu township, leading to the loss of at least 15 souls in the outgoing year.
PUNCH Online reports cases of ritual killings, the recent being the case of a missing 12-year-old boy, John Soyemi, whose mutilated body was found after five days at a community within Asero Estate.
Alamutu said, “2023 has been a challenging year because we have crime across the country. But I still insist based on available records that Ogun State remains one of the safest cities in the country as of today. Be that as it may, we have our own peculiar challenges.
“We are trying to level up. We are trying to be at least a step ahead of them, and the most disturbing trend now is the issue of ritual killings, which by its nature, is never done in the open except through credible intelligence before the act is committed.
“Unfortunately, the trend had continued to rise. So in the coming year, we are going to concentrate more on advocacy so that people will be aware of the fact that there is nothing like a money ritual.”
The CP continued, “You cannot make money by killing people, it is an agelong myth, it is a total fallacy. There’s really nothing like money rituals, they are just vicious, they are only being deceived to bring things they know it’s impossible to get like human head and all those stuff. By the end of the day, in their desperation, they go out for the eyeball, but then, there’s nothing like a money-making ritual.
“But our efforts in the coming year will be more sensitisation of members of the public. We will continue to place more emphasis on advocacy.”
“Cultism too is actually a serious menace, but the truth is that we are arresting them on a daily basis. But I’m happy the government is looking towards that direction and they need to put in place stiffer punishment for these people because it’s becoming a pastime, but the most disturbing news is that they are neither students nor artisans. They are just out there to take advantage of innocent people,” Alamutu noted.
