The Federal Government has declared its readiness to launch a national sensitization campaign against the increase in the rate of ritual killings in the country.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, made this known during a visit to the corporate headquarters of the Media Trust Limited, the owner of Daily Trust group of newspapers and Trust Television, in Abuja on Monday.

“Gentlemen, our visit today is coming at a time of great concern across the country over the rising cases of ritual murders by unscrupulous people, most of them very young, who are seeking to get rich at all cost. We have therefore decided to use this opportunity to begin the process of raising national awareness on this scourge.

“For those who may still be in doubt, ritual killings have assumed a worrisome dimension in recent years. According to an NGO, Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), 150 women and girls were killed for ritual purposes between January 2018 and December 2021,” the minister said, while also citing recent ritual killings in other parts of the country.

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Mohammed added that the National Orientation Agency (NOA) has formed a partnership with religious and traditional organisations and NGOs in the country to forge behavioural change, especially among the youth, some of whom, he said, were afflicted by the “get-rich-quick syndrome”.

The minister further disclosed that he has directed the National Film and Video Censors Board, the regulatory body for films and videos in the country, to take the issue of ritual killings into consideration while censoring and classifying films and videos, in addition to engaging with stakeholders in the industry to express the concerns of the government and Nigerians on the need for Nollywood producers to eschew money ritual content in their movies.

TheStar