On Friday, April 5, 2025, three leading juju men in Anambra State — Chidozie Nwangwu, popularly known as Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki (“the egg that breaks coconut”), Onyebuchi Okocha, also known as “Onyeze Jesus,” and Ekene Igboezekwe, known as “Eke Hit”— were arraigned before Justice Jude Obiorah. The three, charged in suit numbers A/41C2025, A/40C2025, and A/42C2025 respectively, were accused of claiming to possess supernatural powers to make money, stagnate destinies, conspiracy to commit felony, kidnapping, obtaining by fraud, preparing protective charms for criminals, and engaging in money rituals. Justice Onuorah ordered that the defendants be remanded at the state facility, and the case was adjourned to April 11, 2025, and later to May 16, 2025.

The three suspected scammers, who operated as juju men, were arrested by a security outfit amid efforts to rid the state of recurring incidents of kidnapping and ransom demands, armed robbery, ritual killings, drug trafficking, and other crimes.

Before their arrest, the three men dominated social media, where they advertised their juju business. They were apprehended and handed over to the police by the Agunechemba security outfit. Additionally, 18 suspected pastors out of the 53 profiled by the arrested juju men fled their residences following the arrest of two of their members by Agunechemba.

Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, Governor of Anambra State, while addressing a gathering about the spike in fraudulent juju practices and patronage in Anambra State specifically, and in Igbo land generally, said: “We went to the places where these people make the charms they call Okeite, bearing people’s names and pictures. We saw thousands of Okeite. Bad people have entered our land. They are not invisible like the air; they are human beings, and we know them. If you see any of them, just draw our attention to them.”

The Quest for Instant Wealth

To put the problem in perspective, the quest for instant wealth is leading many young Nigerians into all sorts of criminal activities—advance-fee fraud, popularly known as yahoo-yahoo, internet fraud, religious fraud, armed robbery, drug trafficking, kidnapping, human organ harvesting and sales, money rituals, and more. Among these crimes, religious crimes seem to be the most lethal because they appear normal to many people in a highly superstitious society like ours, and there seem to be no adequate laws in the land to prosecute religious fraudsters, whether they are pastors, imams, or so-called traditional religionists.

“Traditionalists are different from these people (who claim to) prepare dangerous charms,” Soludo says. “Igbo culture and tradition are different from these ones who claim to have power to prepare charms that will make you wealthy while they themselves are wretched. They cannot prepare the same charms for themselves and become wealthy. If they had such power, why haven’t they made all the people in their families and villages billionaires? They should have started with their families, making everyone there a billionaire and making themselves wealthier than Elon Musk. They are just fraudsters. They ‘eat’ anyone who falls into their traps. These fraudsters have caused many of their victims to sell off their property,” Soludo said.

These juju scammers have much in common with other religious scammers, such as fraudulent pastors. They promise their victims that their prayers or juju will make them wealthy overnight if they pay tithes, donate large sums to their churches, or pay consultation fees to the fraudulent juju priests. Apart from the money these victims pay as consultation fees, they also agree to give the juju men a certain percentage of the money they make from their crimes, supposedly with the help of the charms prepared for them.

“And let me tell you why we are after them: They have misled and destroyed Igbo youths. Igbos are known for their hard work, industry, entrepreneurship, and thrift,” Soludo said. “The Bible itself says he that refuses to work should not eat. But now, these fraudsters are convincing people that they can become wealthy through spiritual means. These fraudsters also exist in the church. There are also pastors who do the same abracadabra to defraud people. All of them are fraudsters! Fraudsters! But don’t worry. We are taking it one step at a time…. These people assure our youths that the charm called Okeite will help them succeed in drug trafficking. If you go to prisons overseas, you will see many of our young people serving jail terms there. These fraudsters convinced the youths that with the Okeite charm, the scanning instruments at countries’ borders would not detect the hard drugs they carry. But as soon as they get there, they are caught, because the Okeite rubbish has no power over scanners at airports and other entry points. Okeite has no power over computers.

“If these things worked, Nigeria would have become the richest country in the world, sacked every other country, and collected their money.

“The routine now is that as early as 9:00 a.m., our young people come out to drinking spots, sit down, and look for people from whom they can get free money and free drinks. If yahoo-yahoo doesn’t work out, they go into the forest and start looking for people to kidnap. I hope you understand what is happening?”

The Latest Case

Barely two months after the arraignment of Chidozie Nwangwu (“Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki”), Onyebuchi Okocha (“Onyeze Jesus”), and Ekene Igboezekwe (“Eke Hit”), chaos erupted in neighboring Enugu State.

On May 27, 2025, Enugu State Police Commissioner, Bitrus Giwa, ordered a manhunt for a fleeing native doctor, Levi Onyeka Obu, nicknamed “Ezeani” and “E-Dey-Play-E-Dey-Show.” In a statement by the command’s spokesman, SP Daniel Ndukwe, the police said:

“Police operatives of the Enugu State Command, attached to the Umumba Division, in the early hours of May 27, 2025, at about 3:15 a.m., in collaboration with Neighbourhood Watch personnel and vigilant community members, successfully rescued a 13-year-old girl (name withheld), allegedly kidnapped for ritual murder, at Umuojor village in Ishiagu community of Ezeagu Local Government Area.

“The operation also led to the arrest of three male suspects connected to the crime: Uche Kingsley Agumba, 33; Ilo Nweze Onyedikachi, 36; and Ejike Odinwankpa, 38. The prime suspect, identified as Levi Onyeka Obu, nicknamed “Ezeani” and “E-Dey-Play-E-Dey-Show,” a native doctor and prominent member of the community, fled the scene and is currently at large.

“During the rescue, two decomposing bodies, one male and one female, were discovered buried in a concrete-sealed pit within an uncompleted building owned and used as a shrine and for heinous criminal activities by the fleeing prime suspect. Investigations reveal that the deceased victims were recently murdered and buried in the pit by the suspects for ritual purposes, and the rescued child was moments away from suffering the same fate before the timely intervention. In line with its laws, the Enugu State Government has demolished the buildings owned by the fleeing prime suspect and used for the criminal enterprise.”

Less than 24 hours after the Enugu State command’s spokesman issued the statement saying the prime suspect, Levi Onyeka Obu, fled the scene and “is currently at large,” news emerged that personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service at the Badagry-Seme border had arrested one Obi Levi Obieze, alias Levi Obu Onyeka, wanted by the Nigeria Police for alleged involvement in abduction, kidnapping, and ritual killing. The service public relations officer, ACI Akinsola Akinlabi, announced in Abuja on Thursday, May 29, 2025, the arrest of Obi Levi Obieze, saying the Comptroller General of Immigration Service, Kemi Nandap, had confirmed the arrest.

“Through credible intelligence,” ACI Akinsola Akinlabi said, “Obi Levi Obieze was apprehended by vigilant men of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Lagos State Border Patrol Command, at Gbaji checkpoint along Badagry-Seme Road while attempting to flee the country on a motorcycle. He is currently in custody, and his identity has been confirmed through a National Identity Management Commission enrolment slip found in his possession. During initial questioning, he admitted to the alleged crimes.”

A National Scourge

The activities of killer juju men, pastors, and imams are not restricted to a particular region of the country; they constitute a national scourge.

Between January 2021 and January 2022, over 185 ritual-related deaths were recorded in Nigeria, involving 43 females and 30 children across 80 incidents in 20 states. The National Bureau of Statistics reported over 150 ritual killing cases within a recent six-month period, highlighting a sharp rise in such crimes. From 2018 to 2020, the National Human Rights Commission recorded over 200 reported ritual killing cases. Victims often include vulnerable groups such as children, women, and the elderly, with young people increasingly involved both as perpetrators and victims. Specific cases include murders involving family members and acquaintances, with gruesome mutilations reported in states like Enugu, Ogun, Imo, Cross River, Osun, Lagos, Oyo, and others.

The surge in ritual killings is linked to socio-economic factors such as desperation for wealth, unemployment, moral decay, and belief in supernatural powers as a means to gain success.

On February 9, 2022, the Nigerian House of Representatives urged the federal government to declare a state of emergency on ritual killings. This followed a resolution during their sitting that day, prompted by a motion presented by Deputy Minority Leader Toby Okechukwu, addressing the alarming rise in ritual killings across the country. Other efforts to combat the menace include calls for stronger law enforcement, public enlightenment campaigns, economic empowerment, and community engagement.

The above data reflect a disturbing trend of ritual killings spreading across many Nigerian states, with hundreds of deaths reported in recent years and increasing involvement of youths both as perpetrators and victims. Specific documented cases of ritual killings in Nigeria, with victim identities and locations, abound.

In March 2025, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, two seven-year-old girls, Chizaram Onuche and Chidinma Onuche (cousins), were drugged, killed, and mutilated by suspects including a native doctor, Aniekan Uko, and Kingsley Opurum. The girls were lured to an unfinished building, drugged, killed, and their blood was collected for rituals.

The native doctor involved in the Rivers State ritual killings, Kingsley Opurum, 43, a native of Etche, Rivers State, was arrested alongside three others, including Aniekan Sunday Uko (27) from Akwa Ibom, who lured the two girls to the building in Rukpokwu, Port Harcourt. Uko drugged the girls with a drink called Black Bullet, then slaughtered them and collected their blood in a bottle for ritual purposes.

Kingsley Opurum was implicated as complicit in the murders, having instructed Uko to provide fresh human remains and blood for rituals. Uko confessed that he became involved after witnessing Opurum perform similar rituals for others in exchange for wealth. Evidence recovered by police included a kitchen knife, the bottle containing the victims’ blood, an empty can of Black Bullet, and a spoon used to collect the blood. Investigations are ongoing to uncover further details and accomplices.

In Moniya, Oyo State, a suspect confessed to killing at least five people for money rituals in 2024, including a 28-year-old man whose head and legs were severed and sold, and a 17-year-old boy who was similarly murdered and whose body parts were sold.

The case in Moniya, Oyo State, involved 40-year-old Muhammad Adekunle. Among the victims were: Adekola Sodiq, 29, who was lured in April 2024, killed, and had his head and legs severed and sold to suspects Obaleye Sanmi and Ismail Olalekan; Malik Kareem, 28, who was stabbed to death on August 7, 2024, with his head and legs severed and sold to Rashidat Akanji for N70,000 at Oje Market; and a 17-year-old boy whose name was not disclosed, killed and mutilated on August 7, 2024, with body parts sold to a female suspect.

Other suspects arrested in connection with the Moniya case include Muniru Salawudeen, Rashidat Akanji, Ismail Olalekan, and Obaleye Sanmi, who confessed to buying human parts from Adekunle for rituals. The police found mutilated human bodies in a dry well at Adekunle’s property, and fresh human flesh was recovered during a search on August 11, 2024. As of early 2025, the suspects were still standing trial for conspiracy, murder, and interfering with dead bodies.

In January 2025, the Anambra State Government demolished Udoka Golden Point Hotel and Suites, also known as La Cruise Hotel, located along Onitsha-Owerri Road in Oba, Idemili South LGA. The hotel was discovered to be a front for kidnappers and other criminal activities. During the demolition, security operatives discovered over 30 well-partitioned graves on the premises, along with a shrine, military camouflage, arms, and cartridges. The hotel had been operating under the guise of hospitality but was actually used for illicit purposes, including kidnapping. The demolition was carried out by the newly established Anambra State security outfit, Operation Udo Ga-Achi (Agunechemba), as part of the state’s Homeland Security Law aimed at cracking down on criminal hideouts. The raid and demolition followed credible intelligence and a tip-off from concerned members of the public.

Authorities emphasized that any structure linked to kidnapping or criminality would be pulled down regardless of ownership.

Earlier, before the demolition of Udoka Golden Point Hotel and Suites (La Cruise Hotel), on August 1, 2013, another hotel, Upper Class Hotel at 8 Market Road, Onitsha, Anambra State, was similarly demolished under the supervision of the then-Governor, Mr. Peter Obi. The demolition of Upper Class Hotel followed the discovery of two human heads and ammunition in the hotel by operatives of the Anambra State Police Command.

These incidents highlight serious concerns about oversight and regulation in the hospitality industry, as well as the exploitation of hotels for criminal enterprises. The government’s actions were intended to send a strong message that such criminal activities would not be tolerated and to restore the true meaning of hospitality as a safe and welcoming service.

In December 2024, the media reported that four suspects were arrested in Niger State for the murder of a 13-year-old boy, the son of an Islamic scholar. The boy was killed and had his intestines and vital organs removed for ritual purposes. However, the specific names of the victim and the culprits have not been publicly disclosed in available reports. The case reflects the ongoing pattern of ritual killings linked to superstition and attempts to gain wealth through human sacrifices in the region and across Nigeria.

Around February 2022, the Ogun State Police Command arrested four young men—Wariz Oladehinde (17), Abdul Gafar Lukman (19), Mustakeem Balogun (20), and Soiu Majekodunmi (18)—for alleged involvement in a ritual killing. The arrests followed a tip-off from a community security guard who reported seeing the suspects burning what appeared to be a human head in a local pot.

Police, led by Divisional Police Officer Abiodun Salau, apprehended three suspects at the scene, while the fourth, who was the boyfriend of the victim, initially fled but was later captured. During interrogation, the suspects confessed to murdering a girl named Rofiat, who was lured by her boyfriend to the crime scene. They admitted to decapitating her, burning her head, and dumping the rest of her body in an abandoned building.

The suspects guided the police to the location where the dismembered body was recovered and taken to the hospital mortuary for autopsy. Weapons used in the crime—a short cutlass and a knife—were also seized.

In February 2022, three 15-year-old boys—Emomotimi Magbisa, Perebi Aweke, and Eke Prince—were arrested in Sagbama, Bayelsa State, for the attempted ritual killing of a 13-year-old girl named Endeley Comfort. The suspects allegedly accosted, hypnotized, and took the girl to an apartment, where they cut her finger and sprinkled her blood on a mirror for ritual purposes. The police confirmed the incident, and the suspects confessed to the crime.

In Osun State, two brothers identified as Tajudeen Monsuru and Tajudeen Lawal were arrested in 2020 in Iwo for operating a ritualist den. Police uncovered several mutilated corpses and decomposing bodies in their possession. The brothers confessed to killing multiple people for rituals to help their clients who patronized them.

A missing woman named Mutiat Alani was linked to the case after her phone was traced to the brothers, leading to their arrest. The discovery sparked public outrage, with irate youths burning down the brothers’ house. The Oluwo of Iwo condemned the killings and urged security agencies to investigate their accomplices.

The suspects are facing charges related to ritual killings, and the police have intensified efforts to clamp down on ritual crimes in the area. This case highlights the ongoing challenge of ritual murders in Osun State and the involvement of siblings in such criminal activities.

Other reported cases include a man, 29-year-old Taiwo Akinola, arrested in 2018 for attempting to kill his mother, Mrs. Alice Iyabo Akinola, for money rituals, and two brothers who allegedly beheaded a teenage boy in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, in 2018. Taiwo Akinola was arrested in Ayobo, Lagos, after attempting to kill his mother for ritual purposes to advance his internet fraud (“Yahoo plus”) business. He attacked her with a plank and other objects to collect her blood for rituals. The incident was foiled when his nephew raised an alarm.

In another ritual killing case, 32-year-old Afeez Olalere confessed in 2022 that his mother encouraged him to kill his younger brother (21 years old) for money rituals. The younger brother was poisoned, killed, and dismembered for ritual purposes.

These cases illustrate the disturbing trend of ritual killings involving close family members in Lagos, often linked to beliefs in wealth and success through occult practices.

In Gombe State (April 2025), six-year-old Muhammad Ibrahim Bulama was abducted and ritually killed. Eight suspects were arrested, including Magaji Adamu, who confessed to slaughtering the child; Babayo Musa, who abducted him; and two native doctors, Idris Dayyabu and Abdulrauf Hussaini, who possessed and mutilated the body parts for rituals.

Around February 2025, in Kwara State, Yetunde, a 300-level female student from Kwara State College of Education, was murdered by Sheikh Abdul-Rahamon Muhammad Bello, allegedly for ritual purposes. Yetunde was killed and dismembered by the suspect, who sold her body parts for rituals. Eleven pairs of ladies’ shoes were found in the suspect’s room, indicating multiple victims.

In Nasarawa State, gospel singer Timileyin Ajayi murdered 24-year-old Salome Adaidu, a National Youth Service Corps member, dismembered her body, and was caught carrying her head in a bag. Ajayi was apprehended on Sunday, January 12, 2025, while trying to dispose of Salome’s severed head after killing and dismembering her. The arrest and the gruesome details were reported publicly from January 14, 2025, when police paraded Ajayi with the weapons used in the crime and confirmed the arrest. Ajayi was formally arraigned in court on January 17, 2025.

In Jos, Plateau State (2022), one Moses Oko was arrested for killing Jennifer Anthony, a University of Jos student, for rituals. Her body was found with her eyes gouged out and other parts missing. Another woman, Plangnam Solomon, was similarly found dead with body parts removed.

Islamic Clerics

Between 2024 and 2025, a number of Islamic clerics were arrested for ritual killings and possession of human parts. Notable culprits include Folorunsho Abdulwahab and Babatunde Folorunso in Kwara State, Oluwafemi Idris in Ondo State, Alfa Ahmed Giga in Ibadan, and Sheikh Abdul-Rahamon Muhammad Bello in Kwara State.

These cases span various Nigerian states, including Rivers, Gombe, Kwara, Nasarawa, Plateau, and the south-west region, involving victims mostly children, students, and young women. The culprits range from native doctors and religious clerics to ordinary citizens.

Pastors

In January 2025, Prophet Bassey Umoren and Prophet Elijah Anietie were arrested after fetish items such as monkey skulls and carved skeletons were found in their churches.

The incident involving Prophet Bassey Umoren and Prophet Elijah Anietie occurred on January 20, 2025. The pastors were apprehended by youths in the Rumunduru community of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State, and handed over to the police for investigation. The Rivers State Police Command paraded the suspects and the recovered fetish items on January 23, 2025.

In November 2022, Pastor Felix Ajadi and two accomplices were arrested in Ogun State for kidnapping, killing, and dismembering a 39-year-old man for ritual purposes.

On Friday, March 7, 2025, the Lagos State Police Command, through its spokesperson CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, announced the arrest of a pastor and two other suspects in connection with the death of 28-year-old Ogubode Adedamola, a 2024 graduate of Lagos State University (LASU). The victim’s body parts were found buried on the church premises, and suspicious financial transactions linked the pastor to the victim. The suspects include Pastor Whepetoji Sunday, Sheriff Adebayo, and Omolara Ajisomo, among five others who fled.

According to CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, investigators found that five suspects received money from Adedamola’s bank account before his disappearance, three of whom have been arrested. Pastor Whepetoji Sunday received 70,000 from the victim’s account. Sheriff Adebayo (a church member) received 300,000 from the victim’s account. Omolara Ajisomo was arrested for aiding her children, Teniola and Olaoluwa Ajisomo, to escape to Cotonou, Benin Republic. Each of them allegedly received ¦ 300,000 from the victim’s account.

The victim, Ogubode Adedamola, a Political Science Education graduate, owned and ran a café on campus. He was declared missing on January 16, 2025, and later confirmed dead.

Historical and broader reports highlight multiple instances of pastors involved in kidnappings, ritual killings, sexual abuses, and other crimes, including cases of pastors raping minors and engaging in ritualistic murder for financial gain. Religious leaders and law enforcement have condemned these acts, attributing them to greed, economic hardship, and misuse of religious authority for personal enrichment. These cases underscore a disturbing trend of ritual killings and criminality cloaked in religious practice across Nigeria.

These incidents have led to calls for stricter regulation and oversight of religious leaders to curb the exploitation and violence perpetrated under the guise of ministry.

Luring Their Victims Through Social Media

“There are two types of kings one can be in life. If you can’t be king of human beings, try and be king of money. Let them be king of humans, and let’s be king of money,” Akwa was seen and heard saying in a video.

After watching videos posted by Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki, in which he tries to lure people into his fraudulent scheme by boasting about his non-existent wealth, one Chukwuma John commented, “I am fully with you Akwa, how I wish that some of my siblings and cousins were like you; the world could have been a better place.”

It is obvious that John had been hoodwinked by the scammer’s deceptive words and the different types of cars shown in the background of the video, which the fraudster displayed as the product of his juju. John was not alone in his admiration of Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki, whom he readily adopted as his model and idol. Many other young people are falling over themselves to either patronize Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki or become juju men like him—all because of the wealth they see him advertising on social media as proceeds of his juju.

The Juju Menace

People are yet to fully understand the level of damage fraudulent juju men and women, charm makers, false prophets, and those who believe in their superstitions are doing to our societies. They are the ones who told a certain lady that she would become wealthy, pregnant (if she had been barren), or solve other pressing problems in her life if she urinated into the food she sells to members of the public. The lady, whose video recently went viral on social media, was caught red-handed in the act.

It was a juju man or woman like the arrested Akwa Tiwara Aki who told a young man that he would become wealthy if he had sex with his mother. The young man went and raped his mother. Did he become wealthy? No. After he failed to become wealthy as promised by the juju man, the young man went to confess his sin at Zion Ministry before the cameras!

They Go About with Police Escorts

Sadly, these fraudulent juju men, like their fraudulent counterparts in the church and yahoo-yahoo boys, go about with police escorts. The question to ask is this: who assigns policemen as escorts to these characters?

The Solution

Ndigbo and many Nigerians are known worldwide as hardworking and enterprising people. At the end of the civil war, for instance, with only £20 handed to each Igbo out of the huge amount of money they had in Nigerian banks, Igbos achieved the feat of bouncing back economically within a short period. Not long ago, the Igbo apprenticeship system (Igba Boi) gained global recognition, including being studied at Harvard Business School, which recognized it as a model for stakeholder capitalism and grassroots entrepreneurship. Sadly, Igbo youths are abandoning these sterling values in favor of the daydream of becoming wealthy overnight through juju. Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo deserves commendation for the excellent work he is doing to stamp out this evil that has taken root not only in Anambra State but across Nigeria—the dangerous belief that one can become wealthy overnight through juju.

What is needed now are more stringent legislations by both national and state assemblies to criminalize false religious claims and deceit, as we have witnessed in recent times, especially on social media. For instance, any pastor, juju man, or woman who claims to have the power to prepare charms for people or perform miracles to make them wealthy should be invited by the police to prove their power. If they fail to prove it, they should be prosecuted according to the law and jailed. (Saturday Vanguard)