Ampersand To The Surge In Jos Ritual Killings

By Andrew Agbese
The mutilated body of a 400 level student of the University of Jos was said to have been found in a hotel room long after her host, said to be her boyfriend, had disappeared into thin air.

Since then, there have been tales of other bodies recovered at other points in similar circumstances, and this week, a video of some cult boys slicing up in the most heinous manner girls seen to be pleading and begging for mercy went viral.These have led many to raise an alarm of an upsurge in ritual killings in Jos.

The craze for instant wealth by young men through cyber crime and other means has found a meeting point with the craze by young girls to show off to their friends their newly acquired brand of the latest Iphones and bone straight hairs, so one has to serve as prey to serve the other.

But why Jos, the city of peace and tourism?It is ironical because it is that serenity, peaceful nature and accommodating nature of the people that the criminals take advantage of to defile the city by using it as a test ground for their crimes.

Some years ago, a young man was lured to use his motorcycle to convey his customer early in the morning to a farm, and on their way, the passenger, sitting at the back, asked the cyclist to slow down but before the cyclist knew what hit him, he was thrown off the bike and his eyes were gouged out and left for dead at a farm till a Good Samaritan who was observing the incident took him to a hospital.

About three years ago, some evil minded persons came to Jos, took advantage of the ignorance of some young girls and paid to record them having sex with them which they later sold to some porn sights to make money.

One of the girls who returned for another round of filming, said she was giving N30,000 the first time and had to return since she needed the money to solve a problem.

Prior to that, Jos also became a center for money doublers who used the Ponzhi scheme to dupe thousands of people such that by the time the scam blew open and they disappeared with people’s money running into billions of naira, there was hardly a household left that had not fallen victim.

The recent return of yahoo boys to Jos, who somehow are led into believing that blood sacrifices would facilitate their crime are also taking advantage of the serenity, average economy and the liberalism in many homes to strike.Under the deception of living a westernized life, many families have adopted lifestyles where they find it hard to caution or discipline their children.

Such that the children can associate with persons not known to their families, go out and come home at any time they feel like.The number of high institution has also added to their prey as most of the girls who relish the freedom of being on their own, find the idea of partying and clubbing most alluring under the deception that that is the good life.

So, any young man that appears with a ‘dope’ car with tint glasses blaring loud music is usually hailed as the ideal man and girls fight over themselves to have such a person as their lover.

But it is not all that glitters that is gold.Now that parents have seen the other side of allowing their children too much freedom, it is high time they adjust.Children are children and they need strict guidance and observation to find the right path.

Even the white people we lie to ourselves that we copy have strict rules for their wards.I pity the parents of that particular girl who was shown being cut to pieces in that video as the effect on their psyche is better imagined.

The security agencies and hotel owners can also help. The policy where people booking hotel rooms are compelled to show thier ID cards and not just giving any name must be reintroduced.

Again, the security must be commended for the increase in surveillance. People shoujd stop complaining about check points mounted by security agencies at major points in the town, yes, they could be inconveniencing but they prevent and expose.

Thankfully, the minister of Women Affairs is from Plateau State. A lot needs to be done to educate and reorient mothers and especially the girl child on  what constitutes true values they should look out for.

Those of them in high institutions must be made to understand there’s more to life than possession of material things.Finally, people shoujd stop making mockery of those killed for rituals, they were only unlucky, we are not better than them and nobody deserves to die in that manner.

Andrew Agbese writes from Abuja