By Miracle Ogunde

The rate at which young ladies are being used for rituals by the ‘so-called’ boyfriends is alarming.

There have been several cases of this ugly incident and the recent is the story of a 300-level Biochemistry student of the University of Port Harcourt, Otuene Justina Nkang, who was allegedly used by her boyfriend, a 400-level Petrochemical Engineering student of the same University, Damian Okoligwe.

According to the information gathered by newsmen, the suspect(Okoligwe) allegedly killed and dismembered the victim’s (Justina) body and packed the remains inside a ‘Ghana-must-Go’ bag.

The level of audacity to kill and dismember a person’s body is really appalling, disgusting and annoying. Could he have done that under a kind of spell or influence of hard drugs? Well, no one knows! It wasn’t even clear if any argument had ensued between the duo but all we could deduce was the aftermath which broke out to public bewilderment.

It was a neighbour who perceived an offensive smell from the apartment of the suspect that alerted the police who broke the entrance into the apartment and found the deceased remains after the deceased had been reportedly missing four days prior to her demise.

Although the elder brother of the deceased, Osatawaji Otuene confirmed to newsmen during an exclusive interview that though the deceased and the suspect dated, but they broke up a long time ago. He maintained that before the incident, she(Justina)was not his(Damian’s) girlfriend.

He further by saying both of them dated for two years ago, in 2021, adding that they didn’t contact each other after they broke up . What caught my attention from the submission of the deceased’s brother is the fact that he said “If they had had any contact before then I would have known. Even if she hid it from me, I know that they didn’t have contact because I spoke to my sister’s best friend who gave me information that the guy who killed my sister texted her in June 2023.”

Does that mean he monitors his sister’s movement? If he does, how then did he fail to know that his sister and the guy were still meeting secretly.

He also expressed disappointment with the rumour flying around on social media saying “I’m not happy with everything that is being said in the media because if she was in a relationship for the money she wouldn’t have broken up (with him) in the first place and mind you, they broke up in 2021. The murderer got my sister’s phone number from her best friend in June 2023.”

The belief of many Nigerians is that the guy used the lady for rituals. Althought not confirmed but the circumstances surrounding her death is fishy which calls for urgent attention. Killing and dismembering a person’s body is an indication for rituals in the actual sense because there’s no justification for such heinous act.

The “Get-Quick-Rich Syndrome” is really on the rise particularly among the youths. The complain about lack of job, whereas many youths aren’t willing to do anything meaningful to make ends meet. They only way to acquire wealth quickly without going through the processes involved. Some youths, particularly the male folks are into “Yahoo-Yahoo” with some adding plus to theirs, known as “Yahoo-plus” which is synonymous to rituals.

It is so pathetic that some young ladies fall victims into the hands of their ritual boyfriends because they want to ride in the latest cars, flex, enjoy wealth they do not know the source. They want to live a flamboyant lifestyle but remain idle and through covetousness they fall preys to their killer boyfriends. The case of Justina is one out of many, but despite this,some ladies are yet to learn the bitter lesson.

Parents on the other hand are not helping matters, as some puts many or most responsibilities on their female children without inquiring into what they do to earn a living.

Charity they say, begins from home. If a child lacks home training, there is a high chance that such a child will become wayward.

Not all that glitters is gold. Not all young guys riding the latest cars have a clean source of income. Many are ritualists in disguise searching for greedy ladies to devour.

Also the situation of the economy has made some youths go astray. All they want is to acquire wealth at all cost without minding the consequences afterwards. Even if they won’t enjoy the wealth for many years, they don’t mind. They are only concerned about enjoying the present moment.

To ladies, be careful of who you fall in love with. Placing priority on material things will do you more harm than good. Work to earn a living and don’t be dependent on any guy. You should be seen as an asset and not a liability. Mind you, the way you present yourself is the same way you’ll be treated.

Parents should act well on their path by imbibing the fear of God in their children. Placing too many responsibilities on innocent children will force them to engage in what will later be their regrets or eventually end their lives. Encourage them to be hardworking, diligent and wait patiently for their appointed time. They should always advise them to quit bad friendship or avoid peer pressure which often makes them go astray.

In conclusion, cases like this should not be swept under the carpet. The suspect must be made to face the full wrath of judgment without mercy to serve as deterrent to those engaging in such acts. I repeat there should be “NO MERCY” granted because it is a great crime to take the soul of another, not to talk of dismembering anyone’s body. Thorough investigation should be carried out, perhaps more discoveries would be made which may eventually exposes other accomplices in the act.

May God guide our leaders right and help our youths the truth to know as our national prayer states.