Metro
Police Blame Hookup for Ritual Killings, Disappearances of Girls
The Nigerian Police Force has said that most cases of missing young ladies and girls being used for ritual purposes in Nigeria are connected to the prevalent hookup culture sweeping across the country.
The Public Relations Officer, Ogun State Command, Omolola Odutola, who was a special guest on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Wednesday, to discuss the topic ‘Hookup Culture: Impact on Youth Values and Relationships’, said young girls and ladies within the age range of 20 and 32 fall victim of the menace.
The Hookup culture encourages and accepts casual sexual encounters, such as one-night stands, without necessarily involving emotional bonding or long-term commitment.
The idea of casual, non-romantic sexual encounters has been around since the 1920s.
Some social critics argue that hooking up is a feminist achievement, while others worry that it is a step backwards for healthy, intimate relationships.
The hookup culture can also be gendered, with women being judged by a different standard than men. For example, women who hook up with too many people or go too far in the first hook-up are often judged by terms like “hoe”.
“This particular menace is very serious and I would like a lot of young people to understand the danger in the hookup culture.
“Today, we have lots of reports of missing persons. By the time we start an investigation, not less than 10 young girls and ladies go missing daily.
“In-depth investigations also reveal that those cases are not by accidents. Most of them are connected to hookup channels and apps. They fall victim to strangers who causally invite them to unknown places, and eventually fall victim to being used for ritual purposes,” she said.
She added that most young persons, especially males believe that ritual killings can make them get rich.
‘Most cases of missing girls and ritual killings occurring in Ogun state of recent, I would like to say that it is not new. But as much as possible, the Ogun state commissioner of police has been able to tame these ugly incidents.
It stems from the ugly perspective of young persons who believe that ritual killing could enrich them. We have some of these unscrupulous elements who deceive young people to get human skulls or human body parts, which they use for some kind of concoction to get them rich.
“That is why we are having advocacy and sensitization, to enlighten young persons to make them understand that engaging in ritual killings does not in any way make them rich,” she said.
According to her, the police command is working closely with the Women Affairs Commission of the state to stem the menace in the tide.
“The Ogun State government, particularly the Women Affairs Commission works in tandem with the police command by providing counselling sessions.
“Apart from that, whenever we have cases such as this if per adventure the girls escape the rituals, we also have a proper way of helping them go through the distress of mental health and anxiety they might have felt during the incident.
“The hookup culture is prevalent among young girls between the ages of 20 to about 32 years. The reason they get involved in this menace is because they feel they don’t get enough from their parents, and then the get-rich syndrome,” she said.
A Development expert, Dorothy Njemanze who also joined the conversation from Abuja, urged the Nigerian Police to provide full security and encourage the reporting culture to deal with the crime.
“A lot of the predatory trends that we see have existed in the society all along. But instead of tackling them headlong, we make excuses and try to guilt-trip people. If you stay in your house, harm can happen to you. You go out, harm can happen to you. A lot of healthy marriages in Nigeria happen through hookups. We are expected to meet people irrespective of how it happened, especially when we are adults.
“But my concern is that the predation system extends to children. A lot of children are being lured through the predation system. Every state needs to have a mandatory reporting system so that when suspicious movements are seen, such activities can be reported. And then for law enforcement, when people report things to you, and you are lax and expect people to write petitions and ply certain routes before you can take action, then there is a problem.
“The proactiveness of law enforcement agencies is what we bank on.
Bad people plan very well, to gain the trust of who they want to harm to minimise chances of their victims raising alarm for them to be caught.
“I heard the policewoman talking about people going to parties. And I also read about a lady killed by her pastor in the church. So it could be anybody.
“Whatever the dimension that bad people choose to operate, the law enforcement should be able to ready to swoop in and ensure that there is minimal to no damage done, and then the mandatory reporting culture of the society is one thing that can help to minimise these things.
“As long as we can’t control what adults do among each other, we can minimize such occurrences because the hookup culture affects both men and women, but more among the women. There is more pressure on men to have resources that can make them look like big men. But make sure as much as possible whenever you are going out, somebody knows where you are going,” she said.
Many parts of Nigeria have been plunged into darkness again as the country’s national grid collapsed for the 11th time this year.
A message from Jos Disco to its customers confirmed that the grid collapsed on Wednesday afternoon.
The message which was signed by the company’s Head of Corporate Communication, Friday Elijah, reads:
“PUBLIC NOTICE
Dear esteemed Customer(s),
The current outage being experienced within our franchise States is a result of loss of power supply from the national grid. The loss of power supply from the national grid occurred this afternoon at about 1333 hours of today, Wednesday, 11th December 2024, hence the loss of power supply on all our feeders.
“We hope to restore normal power supply to our esteemed customers as soon as the grid supply is restored back to normalcy.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding as we strive to serve you better.”
Many Nigerians have expressed their frustration on social media, particularly X, formally Twitter. Many of them noted that they have not had electricity for days.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is yet to confirm the reported collapse of the national, while Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company only reported a power outage. Eko Electricity Distribution Company reported “a loss of power supply in our network”.
Statement from EKEDC:
“Dear Valued Customer,
Kindly be informed there was a reported case of system disturbance on 11th November, 2024 at 13:32hrs which has resulted to a loss of power supply across our network.
“We are currently working with our partners as we hope for speedy restoration of the grid. We will keep you updated as soon as power supply is restored.
Kindly bear with us.”
It should be noted that earlier this week, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) reportedly directed gas producers to stop supplying gas to indebted generation companies (GenCos).
The collapse of the national grid was reported by the Jos Disco.
NMDPRA’s threat to discontinue the supply of gas to GenCos could cause a blackout in the jurisdictions of the affected gencos.
According to reports, the federal government and some GenCos owe over N2 trillion in legacy debts to gas producers in Nigeria.
The NMDPRA has called on gas off-takers, particularly power generation companies, to ensure timely payment for the gas supplied.
The TCN and the Ministry of Power are yet to react to the situation.
Source: Nairametrics
A Nigerian medical practitioner, Dr. Rasheed Abassi, has sparked widespread debate following comments on TVC’s programme – Your View – where he recommended increased sexual activity for women as a way to reduce the risk of breast cancer.
The doctor also advised men to consider polygamy, citing its potential health benefits, including a lower risk of prostate cancer.
“Women need to have more sex to reduce breast cancer risk. When a woman reaches orgasm, she releases oxytocin, which lowers her chances of developing cancer,” Dr. Abassi stated during the interview.
Addressing men’s health, Dr. Abassi claimed that polygamy could improve longevity and reduce prostate issues. “Men with two to three wives live longer than men with one wife. If your son is not getting rid of his DHT (dihydrotestosterone), he is likely to develop an enlarged prostate,” he said.
He also linked the absence of regular erections to potential cardiac problems. “Any man not waking with a full erection already has cardiac issues. My oldest patient is 92 years old and has a four-year-old daughter — and that’s DNA-proven,” he revealed.
When asked about the risks of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) associated with increased sexual activity, Dr. Abassi emphasised the importance of safe practices. “The condom is not 100% protective, but we still advise it. Awareness is key,” he said.
He also noted that some men cite the cost of contraceptives as a challenge, comparing it to the financial costs of engaging in sexual activities.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Abisola Ruth Olusanya, has lauded MoneyMaster PSB for its support for the state’s ‘Ounje Eko’ initiative.
She gave the commendation recently during an official visit by the executive management team of the bank to her Ikeja, Lagos, office.
The commissioner thanked the team for the visit and expressed appreciation for the support for and participation of the bank in the Phases 1 and 2 of the Ounje Eko project.
She challenged the bank to work more closely with the Ministry, saying such collaboration will bring additional dividends through ongoing and future initiatives to Lagos residents.
Head, Agency Banking, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank, Mr Julius Arhebun, in his response thanked the Lagos State Government for appointing the PSB as one of the official collection banks for the food initiative.
‘Ounje Eko’ initiative is a weekly food discount market where Lagos residents can buy a variety of food items at a discount of 25 per cent.
Arhebun, who was accompanied on the visit by Dimeji Amao; Head, Merchant and Enterprise Business, Bulus Ayuba; Head, Operations and Olumide Orojimi, Head, Marketing Communications pledged additional support and readiness of the bank for future initiatives of the Ministry.
MoneyMaster PSB is a leading provider of innovative digital financial products and services that transform lives and contribute to sustainable living. With a mission to deepen financial inclusion, MoneyMaster has been instrumental in providing financial technology services to bridge the gaps between the banked, underbanked and unbanked population.
The bank recently launched a 10% data bonus and 100MB seeding bonus to its existing and new customers to deepen financial inclusion. The offers are available to Nigerians via the USSD code and mobile banking app.
