Reps move against ritual killings, task religious bodies, NOA on advocacy

Worried by the continuous rising incidences of ritual killings across Nigeria, the House of Representatives has called for measures to halting the menace.

The House in a resolution on Tuesday urged the National Judicial Council (NJC) to facilitate the designation of special Divisions within existing
Courts at all levels to expeditiously handle homicide, femicide and related cases.

The has also urged all relevant law enforcement agencies to prioritize homicide investigations and ensure thorough prosecution of offenders, and religious organisations, the National Orientation Agency (NOA), and other advocacy groups to initiate public awareness campaigns focusing on instilling ethical values and respect for human life, and to promote programs that educate young people on the dangers of ritual killings, murder, and manslaughter.

The House thus, mandated its Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights and Women Affairs to liaise with the NJC and other relevant stakeholders to monitor the implementation of the resolution and report back progress.

This was sequel to a motion jointly sponsored by Hon. Awaji-Inombek Abiante and three others, titled “A National Call to Halt Homicidal and Femicidal Acts in Nigeria”.

Rolling out multiple statistics of such killings across the country, the lawmakers in the motion moved by Abiante said, “delays in the prosecution of homicide cases, which have caused prolonged pre-trial detentions which is overcrowding the correctional facilities, and loss of crucial evidence, is eroding public faith in the judicial system”.

According to them, “the slow and ineffective justice system allows perpetrators to gain media attention while trials for serious crimes like homicide are prolonged, an example is the case of Chidinma Ojukwu, under trial for the murder of Usifo Ataga, continues to gain publicity, and the notorious kidnapper Evans, facing trial for murder, has been awarded scholarship”.