The fears of the woman are based on reality. One has only to read Nigerian newspapers to see the number of people who are ritually killed almost every day.
She should be granted asylum.
If she had millions she could buy that asylum!

Please let him and the children be, Please allow the children to fished thiee education before thinking to do anything. Since she has not involve criam or do some against the government of the country. please help the woman and the children.

I beg for Mrs Maryam Oderinde and her four children to be granted asylum. They are no nuisance to the UK society.

I want to advice the Government of United Kingdom should be compassionate to this family not on the barbaric story but on humanitarian ground. They want a better living condition not that her child would be used as sacrifice. We should stop denting the image of Nigerian abroad on the self motive of wanting to stay in Europe. She does not need to go to Aduge, her husband village to live. Other viable cities are in Nigeria when she can live her life well without going to Aduge. Come of it, where is Aduge in Nigeria?. Which state and local Government?

She should be granted her stay for the sake of her children but can Nigerians who for the sake of being granted stay in London stop denting the image of Nigeria. In as much as I want her to be granted her stay where is her local government? Maybe efforts should be made to track her in-laws down and find out their own side of the story. In addition find out if this Local Government actually exist and then talk to the Chairman to confirm her story.

Pls grant the woman and her family assylum. The ritual killings is real in some communities in
Nigeria. Please save the woman and her children from calamity of been sacrificed.

Please, I am using this media to plead with UK
Immigration Services to grant Maryam Oderinde
and her children asylum and stay in UK.

I hereby plea that Maryam Oderinde and her wonderful children should be allowed to stay in the United Kingdom,
I beleive the woman wants to dwell in a more organized and a system where things work. She also want her
children to enjoy good and quality education. For the sake of these children, God knows they might turn out to
heroes of this world. Returning her and the children back to Nigeria will definately worsen their situation

please i plead on behalf oderindes. Let d uk govt grant her request atleast for d sake of her young ones to avoid a situation whereby her enemies would jump and rejoice against them. hwever, she shld be to sign certain papers to continue to conduct themselves according to d detects of her host.

I beg the UK to grant this woman and her her children Asylum In Jesus name

Am pleading on behalf of the Oderinde's Children that UK Authorities shd grant them asylum and legalise their stay in the UK, so that the Children can complet their education.

For compassion sake, the government of UK should grant this lady with her family asylum just because of the rot in the Nigerian system and also assuming she is telling the truth about her identity that is about her real state, real local government area and real town and real community of her family. But if she is telling a lie or lies to get asylum in order to stay in UK by denting the image of Nigeria, then the conditions should apply. As far as I know, ritual killing by ritualists is real and almost a daily occurrence but not communal human sacrifice as a custom any longer.

What the heck, is Britain really a modern, compassionate community?
Why should you subject this family to such trauma after residing peacefully and
being law abiding in England for over five years? What gains would accrue to the
authorities after their deportation and someone gets murdered for ritual killing?
Already the father is killed for the fact that he refused to produce one of his kids for ritual!
Where is the conscience of these immigration officials?
Why are they so heartless!!!

UK government should please come to her aid and halt the deportation. Its too bad that such a thing is still in existence. Too bad.

we are pleading with the UK Authorities to grant Maryam and her children stay for the sake of her children.what if the story is true and she's deported,the assailant wil pounce on her and her children.pls,let be proactive.

Let the British grant the family assylum on compassionate ground, but WHERE IS ADUGE IN NIGERIA? We need more information because the family in question may not be Nigerian.

Please i beg on their behave to let them stay, since they have not committed any crime and the children are loved by the people around to have gone on campaign for them. please no matter what the case may be have compassion on them.

@ Aigbiremon Mathias you are very stupid for saying dat wiv ur stupid mouth cos nigeria is real place where we have got alot of ritual killings especially wen u come from the royal families and which u know wat am talking about and if we are to look it further r u gonna say u havnt done sumtin worse dan dis even though if the woman is trying to do so, you r full of crap and shit (Aigbiremon Mathias) , well to the u.k govt i plead on her behalf to grant her the asylum stay cos she got 4kids including her it aint gonna be easy for her all alone and moreover the children are a gud participator in there various fields (schools) who knows if they are gonna bring the name of england out in the sport they are into so i will ask home office to please grant dem the assylum.....

Do i hear u say Nigerias image?a country whose political class,elites and highly placed individuals superstisously and diabolically believe they must kill and sacrifice an albino,hunch-back,one of their son or daughter to retain power or protect money hasnt got an image to protect.ritualism is sky high in nigeria.untill n unless this diabolical practice is out-lawed and abolished,christianity or islam is a big farce.

I am pleading to the UK Authorities to grant Maryam and her children asylum and legalise their stay for the sake
of her children's education.

For the sake of mercy and her children I am pleading with the UK authority to please grant Maryam and her children stay in the uk. Deporting her will cause a serious traumatic psychological problem.

...please i emplore the british asylum authorities to grant the woman asylum if her reason is confirmed to be truth.ritual killings in nigeria is sure as hell.just read an average nigerian news paper and check out the horror that stares at your very face.its alarming now that politics n campaign is arround the corner once again.dead mutilated bodies with the private parts,tongues or heads missing lying the streets of cities accross nigeria is a daily,but an unfortunate sight to behold.this is yet a country that prides itself high in churning out pastors and immams.

Please let the UK investigate her story and if found to be true, let them be granted asylum but if false, let the woman be penalized while she is allowed to live in the UK for the sake of her innocent children. We all understand that our country is not really a home, comparing to what is obtainable in the developed and some developing countries, but we should be very careful on certain actions we take just for our personal interests. The harm most of these actions do is far far more than the good derived from them. My fellow Nigerians, let's be wise! The moment we begin to think beyond oneself, consider others, consider the impact of our actions on others and the country in general, the change will come. Now the international community has heard that her community wanted to use her child for rituals, but why now and not then? Why didn't she raise the alarm that time in Nigeria? Who and who knew about it then? In fact Nigerians should stop worsening their situation please! We need a change but no one wants to be an agent of change instead we are agents of destruction. As for me, this is an expensive reason because it involves a community and not an individual issue, let the woman prove that! God bless u!

Nigeria is a country rotten in every single way.the nigerian authorities have consecutively refused to allow the international media to do a reporting over this hydra headed issue of ritual killings and human sacrifices ,yet in this 20th century.why?because the culprit of these crimes are highly placed.in lagos there are private mini bus services that is called (one more chance)these are used in picking up unsuspecting commutters to the ritualists dens.not all victims lived to tell the tale.asylum to this woman.!

The British govt.should please temper justice with mercy and let the poor woman and her children be. The persecution and insanity that drove them out of Nigeria has not abated yet. Her stay in the UK so far is like postponing the evil day in that goddamn Nigerian village called Aduge.
Please, let the immigration office over there do all within their power to let her continue her sojourn there at least for the sake of our common humanity.

I will like the british immigration to confirm the story of Mrs. Maryam Oderinde from Nigeria and it if it is true, then she should be grant a stay in London. Nigeria government should also take immediate action against the ugly incident of fake traditional beliefs that have caused the life of some many innocent Nigerians.

in the country side,out in the cities,over there in the villages, the same ugly stories of children,adults,albinos,hunch-backs missing.now tell us who is gonna campaign for the right to life for the nigerian ALBINOS? in nigeria hotels are used as rendezvous for slaughtering of fellow humans for ritual sacrifices for diabolical elevetions.damn it! man, its this bad in nigeria.out-law and abolish this evil practice today not tomorrow.

now tell us one single reason why the albinos must become an endangered specie in the quest to fortify your political power.tell us why you must murder a hunch-back to stay afloat diabolicaly.tell us why you must live and let die.??

please for teh sake of teh wonderful children please i beg teh uk not to depot
her and her children from the united kingdom. God bless

NIGERIA Where commissioners and state officials go naked and swear oaths with horrible rituals (Pictures in newspapers: e.g. Ogun State) Where hunchbacks and albinos are hunted down and butchered for power/money by Ministers/Senators (Stories in newspapers: e.g. Osun State) Where pastors boast of killing hundreds of innocent children for being accused of being witches (E.g. South East :Repeat programme on ITV next Monday) What about your 'Okotoko' saga! And 'Orji' the 'mad man' supplier of human parts to your politicians? How do you treat your widows? Aren't widows made to drink bath water of dead husbands in some places? Your re-branding is mere slogan, and like slogans of the past (MAMSA, OFN, KAI, BETTER LIFE etc etc), it is an expensive passing fancy!

Please allow this poor lady and the children to stay in UK for better life. I heard some silly comment about denting Nigeria image. Does nigeria has any image left to be dented?

It's funny that she could not find any place in all 37 states of Nigeria to relocate her children. Or are all the states against her? Do all the states in Nigeria kill people for rituals? Aduge is one of the several thousands of villages in Nigeria, that is IF it exists at all. I think she is looking for an excuse to stay in Britain and had to look for one that would be compassionate, theatrical. She could not say there is a war going on in Nigeria or any crisis so she cooked up this story. Congrats to her. I don't feel any compassion towards her at all whether or not she is repatriated because of making these crazy claims. She should stop making Nigeria look like a barbaric place, after all UK is no better with kids killing themselves and adults indiscriminately, serial killers on the prowl, paedophiles, terrorism, etc. I rest my case.

God has made Britain a big TREE where all birds from all parts of the has sought refuge. Pls let Maryam and her children stay. God bless United Kingdom

God has made Britain a big TREE where all birds from all parts of the has sought refuge. Pls let Maryam and her children stay. God bless United Kingdom

For the sake of mercy and her children I am pleading with the UK authority to please grant Maryam and her children stay in the uk. Deporting her will cause a serious traumatic psychological problem.deportation is a very bad thing to experience, lam speaking out of experience

I really sympathise with maryam with family over the ritual incident that led to the dead of her husband,
but I beg the UK Government to temper justice mercy and let them be.Life should be valued above the
offence they did commit.I plead with nigeria Government to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident
and take a positive step to salvage the urgly mess

Home office/Immigration Minister, why now? Do you have laws for the rich different from those for the poor in your country too? If thats the case, then your system is not better than the rotten system we have in Nigeria. In fact that's the main reason why people are running to your country only to get jailed for weeks and get deported. Don't forget that this woman never in her lifetime thought she would sleep in jail for one night no matter the luxury in that jail. Ok, why did you allow Umar Dikko to stay in UK after the 1983 coup? You even rescued him from being smuggled into Nigeria in a crate and kept him till it was safe for him to return. Was he a British Citizen at that time? This your capitalist orientation is suffocating the poor ones. Please have a re-think. Let the family be. Its her right to live and the UN Charter guarantees that in case you dont remember. Just like Umar Dikko, let her family return home when the feel the heat is over- just like Dikko. Thank you.

Please, save those innocent children from a life of uncertainty.

where is the city of ADUGE. I'VE NEVER HEARD OF ANY CITY NAMED ADUGE. THE BRITISH HOME OFFICE SHOULD INVETIGATE THIS STORY. IF FOUND TO BE A TRUE STORY ,THEN, MERCY. HOWEVER, THAT IS A HORRIBLE WAY TO DEPICT ONE'S HOME COUNTRY SIMPLY BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING TO RETURN TO IN NIGERIA. SO MANY OUTRAGEOUS STORIES WILL EMERGE EACH TIME A DEPORTATION ORDER IS ISSUED. MOSTLY LIES, IT IS ECONOMIC NOT RITUAL. GOD BLESS NIGERIA.

There have been routine evidence of ritual and cult killings in Nigeria
which both the Nigerian Police and politicians are aware of. Thus, there have been several evidences of dead bodies with missing body parts including
few individuals caught in the state of such acts with human body parts or
confessions of the cause for murder in pursuit of money.

Without question, Britain is a civilized nation and has right to control its
Immigration and just causes for assylum there. But, if upon all probably
evaluations, they still feel convinced to deport this lady and her children to
be subjugated to a resultant death, the conscience of those concerned would continue to haunt them the rest of their lives. Immigration and assylum compassion of four unique members of the same family despite the present
adjustment in the British homestead, would not the least disturb the British
socio-economic nor political settings. For benefit of the doubt and for sake of human compassion, coupled with petitions of their British hosts, give this
family a stay in Britain they have shown interest to call home. Besides, non
of the household had any Police Records concerning deliquence. Therefore,
allow them to stay on humanitarian grounds and lessen the distracting volume of public petitions to the Home Secretary for other matters.

I urge the British authorities to reconsider their decision and grant this woman and her children asylum. Nigeria is a place where terrible and very horrible things happen. Few people want to live there and be a victim of their mess.

I readed the story of this woman and her children.Please let the woman stay with her children.The story she is saying still happens till this day.she has no police record.dose what she can to take care of four children at this hard times.please BRITAIN let her stay.give her the assylum.

emotions and not facts.fear and inability to readjust. people should reason well. an individual is sabotaging the image of all for selfish reason. untold agonies have been displayed across pages of dailies across the globe placing nigeria worse than when the white man first discovered it. we must call a spade a spade. let us all discourage this bold face destruction of whatever is left of nigeria. nigerians know when another nigerian is lying and telling unfounded stories. truth must be told, many nigerians living in nigeria are not aware of these sordid damming tales of child mutilation, child sacrifice all in the name of wanting to live in the whiteman's country.

I do not really know the circumstances surrounding her case, the fact is UK is the end of the road or life of this woman and her children.For leaving her native country for UK for a better life, she knew it was half and half, that the host country could denied or welcome her family.So what is the fuss.She is doing what she thinks is better for her by dragging the children along.This may sound cold, but it is a fact. Some African women does this, by thinking that this is the best for the kids, a way for them to make money through the social services.Europe or America is not the best place to RAISED OUR CHILDREN WITHOUT A FATHER BY A SINGLE MOTHER AND THE GOVERNMENT AS THEIR MONEY DADDY

as much as i would like dis children to be granted asylum in the Uk, I make bold to say dat Mrs Oderinde is a blantant liar. Her story does not jell. Nigeria is definitely not the worst place in the world. Nigerians should stop painting the country blacker it really is for them to remain in perpetual colonialism

Britain, being Nigeria's former colonialist is the achitect of all past and current socio-economic and political problems in Nigeria. Britain remains the harbour of stolen wealth meant for development in Nigeria. Whenever there is fraud in high places in Nigeria Britain has never in clear terms expressed their disdain for such act due to what they stand to gain. In fact, the authority in Britain cannot feign ignorance of the rot in Nigeria and they are beneficiary in form of high fees for visa applications that were never approved. Mrs Oderinde deserves theright to live. The children also have the right to live. They chose to stay in UK and have been law abiding so they should be allowed to stay afterall, Britain is making more than enough ranging from their offensive British Airways, Shell Petroleum, Denied visa fees, laundered money by corrupt government official, contributions from million british nigerians working in various capacities in the uk.

please be mercifull for the childrens sake. although i dont belive her story as nigeria has
passed that stage.but despite that, please grant her and the children their stay as they can be
usefull citizens in future.

The United KIngdom is noted for humanitarianism, and surely the case of the law abiding Lady; Mrs Oderinde and her Children should not be an exception. She is running away from Danger , as a result the Uk govt should please assist her to overcome the despair. All the law abiding citizens of Nigeria and the entire Africans and the UK community of love should rally arouind the poor Lady to avoid deportation. Please contact your local Politicians and the Minister 's office to stop the action, for the sake of humanitarians.

I am asking that the UK Home Office allow the mother and her children to stay by granting them aylum. Her story is very true. Most part of Nigerian communities are still canivorous in nature. They eat and even sacrifice human beings to their gods to in their belief that it will appease their gods and grant them whatever they might be seeking. At least, there is one ritual killing in Nigeria every minute. Because of fear of embarrassment, currently there is a bill ready to be passed by the house , sponsored by the Nigerian govt. to restrict the freedom of the press from reporting "such ritual canibalism" As my former lecturer said, "Nigeria is a place where everything works upside down" A Nigerian radical preacher, Late. Rev. Dr Jame Udogu Ukaegbu, who was outspoken against the ills of the Nigerian society once said "IF GOD FAILS TO PUNISH NIGERIA, HE SHOULD WRITE AN APPOLOGY LETTER TO SODOM AND GOMORRAH"

I am a patrotic Nigerian, but I CANNOT BE SO PATRIOTIC THAT I WILL CLOSE MY EYES FROM THE TRUTH. WRONG IS WRONG NO MATTER WHO DOES IT. NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT IS DEAD WRONG, Joe Biden would say. I AM READY TO COME UP TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE AND DEFEND WHATEVER I Have WRITEN AGAINST THE NIGERIA GOVERNMENT. If that leads to my death, I am ready to make that sacrifice if that will bring a revolution in Nigeria. After all a man who doesn't know what he will die for is not worthy to live.

of course this story about the son been targeted for tribal ritual killing is a very big dirty LIE...
if u want to stay in Britian becos its a more organised country just say so instead of making Nigeria look like a country were only animals live, i know we have our numerous problems but pls pls be truthful....

RESPONSE TO : Mr. Biso Ajene and Adesadowe's comments above.

Please, can you read the attached abstract of Cannibalism in Nigeria? as reported by Tribune Neswpaper of 8th November 2009. I want start with recent issues. Check out the original story at (http://www.tribune.com.ng/08112009/general1.html)

Cannibalism is true in Nigeria. Eating of human beings, especially unsuspecting children victims, like the children of MARYAM is a possibility.Do not rule it out.

NOW, READ THE NEWS

We need legislation to eradicate rituals, cannibalism - Erelu Lola Ayonrinde -Raises posers on Oba Funso Adeolu’s corpse

Erelu Tunwase AyonrindeErelu Tunwase of Ode-Remo, Chief Lola Ayonrinde, who is the Otun Iyalode of Shomolu and Lagos District, and also the Yeye Akinrogun of Ikeji-Ile Ijesa was twice Mayor of the London Borough of Wandsworth. She talks to AYO-LAWAL GBENOBA on her campaign against human sacrifice and cannibalism in Nigeria. Excerpts:

WHAT is your campaign all about?
The ‘Say No To Cannibalism In Nigeria’ campaign is aimed towards eradicating the ancient and obnoxious practice of mutilating the bodies of traditional rulers after death. The rituals and sacrifices parts of the body of a dead king, especially in Western Nigeria, are used for are barbaric and a disgrace to the country in this 21st century. The movement is out to stop these evil practices which are not in consonant with the will of God and against the fundamental human rights of the affected traditional rulers. When a king dies, they say they have to give his heart to his successor on the throne to eat. They explained that it will make the new king strong and courageous but, is that not deceit? How can eating somebody’s flesh give courage to another person? They mutilate the remains of these kings and engage in fetish and obnoxious activities which add no value to anybody or the society in general.


Why do you need to feed an incoming royal father with the heart of a dead one? This cannibalism started with Christopher Colombus who believed that when a king ate the heart, or some other parts of a dead ruler, some major attributes of the dead was transferred to the new king. This is sheer cannibalism and has no place with God. And, I want the chiefs, the traditional rulers themselves and other stakeholders to know that any tradition that does not recognise God is doomed. The government must put a stop to this cannibalism going on in some parts of Nigeria because, it is even against the constitution of Nigeria. Section 38 subsection 1 of the Nigerian constitution gives every citizen the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, while section 17 subsection 26 declares that the sanctity of the human person shall be recognised and human dignity shall be maintained and enhanced. Where is the sanctity of the human person in all these? Where is human dignity?


What motivated this campaign?
I was very close to the late Alaye of Ode-Remo, Oba Funso Adeolu, the popular Chief Eleyinmi of the rested Village Headmaster soap opera. Few months after his death on August 21, 2008, he started appearing to me and I had months of traumatic haunting. In his lifetime, Oba Adeolu was a Christian and he made it known that he did not partake in anything fetish during his installation as king. He explicitly, several times, demanded that when death came calling, his corpse should be handed over to his family so that he could be given a proper Christian burial. However, his corpse was not released to the family. After his death, he appeared to me several times, and kept telling me about many things. He said his corpse was handed over to the ‘odis’ (slaves) who treated it like that of a criminal. They took bits and pieces of his remains for their own use while some parts were distributed to the four corners of the town.


It was while going round that I discovered what happened and I met some chiefs who confessed what happened but asked me to forget it because there was nothing we could do about it.


All the ‘odus’ of Ifa do not approve using human beings as sacrifice, the constitution does not approve and to crown it all, God Almighty frowns at this practice, they are doing it to appease whom? Some of the kings today are enlightened and those who are born again Christians, like Oba Adeolu, are renouncing these things. So, why hold on to an obnoxious and barbaric act? Oba Adeolu believed he would be given a decent burial and that is why his ghost has refused to rest. Even in Ijebuland, these things were abolished years ago and Ijebuland under the Awujale agreed they would bury kings according to their religion.


So, how do you hope to stop the practice?
We are canvassing that our traditional rulers should be buried whole, without being mutilated and it should be in the open. There is secrecy because of the evils attached. It is untenable scientifically that the heart is eaten for so and so reasons. To start with, let us have the installation of kings in the open, no aspect of the installation should be shrouded in secrecy. It should be a celebration of our culture so, why should it be shrouded in secrecy? When everything becomes transparent, it will even help younger ones to know more about our culture and we will be able to restore some of our societal values. Why should obas be laid to rest in a paganic manner? If a governor gives staff of office to a king, giving him recognition and authority, that king is under the governor so, why should the government condone barbarism in this age? The ministry of local government and chieftaincy affairs should do something about this, if not, the government is endorsing cannibalism. True that some of the kings went through these rituals during installation but those who opted out should be given that grace of opting out of the rituals in death. They should be buried according to their faith. The practice is a disgrace to the whole of South West because it is common there.


We are appealing to the traditional rulers who were installed through cannibalism to renounce it publicly and declare they don’t want their hearts to be eaten or other parts of their bodies to be used for any form of ritual. Abolition of slave trade took place years ago. So, why do we still have some people in Ode calling themselves slaves (‘odis’)? We need legislation to stop the barbaric act and we are appealing to our lawmakers to rise up to this task of eradicating cannibalism in Nigeria. There should be a law backing a king to opt out of fetish installation and burial and it should become an offence for anyone to tamper with the remains of a king, for whatever purpose, or to give the body to the ‘odi’ for rituals. The penalty should be without an option of fine so that the perpetrators would know how grave the offence is. The ‘odi’ in Ode can be given money to buy goat, ram, cow, or whatever they need for sacrifice, if they must, but there must be total abolition of human sacrifice in the country. Efforts are being made by some Ogun State traditional rulers to stop it but some feel the fetish practice must be protected. The government must detach itself from it.


Internationally, human sacrifice, cannibalism, witchcraft and sorcery are illegal so, why should it be done with impunity in Nigeria, a country that is known as the giant of Africa? Infact, politicians should begin to include the abolition of cannibalism in their campaign programmes, and party manifestos by 2010.


What efforts have you made so far to network and get people involved?
We give glory to Almighty God. I have spoken to so many kings who secretly don’t want it and we are telling them that they should make an open declaration against these evil practices. The campaign would be boosted if they do because people believe they all knew and agreed to these evil practices before being installed. We now call on the royal fathers again, in the name of Almighty God, to declare publicly that they don’t want these fetish practices to continue. I have carried the campaign to the international level so that Nigerians of affluence who are in diaspora would lobby the lawmakers and get a legal backing for the campaign to eradicate human sacrifice and cannibalism in Nigeria. A number of international media like the BBC have aired my interview on the campaign and some Nigerian people abroad are involved in the lobbying for a legislation to stop the obnoxious practices.


We call on the ‘oluwos’ and ‘odis’ in Ode to review the entrenched ill that has no value to the society. We appeal to them to accept cows and goats and allow our royal fathers to be buried according to their beliefs. Then, it was about time that the royal fathers are constituted into the House of Royals, like the House of Lords, so that they would have more power, say and patnership in governance. This would help them to contribute meaningfully to issues affecting them and the society at large.

Please, UK HOME OFFICE, DO NOT DEPORT THIS INNOCENT KIDS TO NIGERIA. IF YOU DO, YOU WILL BE SENDING THEM TO THEIR UNTIMELY GRAVE. ONE OF THEM MAY GRWO UP TO CHANGE THE NIGERIAN SITUATION OF RITUAL KILLING AND SAVE OTHER KIDS FROM BEING RITUALIZED. ONE OF THEM MIGHT BE THE OBAMA OF NIGERIA. THANKS

MORE NEWS ON RITUAL KILIING IN NIGERIA

The Gospel of Distrust: the Ritual Killing of Human Beings in Nigeria
Submitted by admin on 28 May, 2008 - 14:37. NigeriaIHN 2008.2 MayInternational Humanist News (http://www.iheu.org/node/3151)

On my first trip to Nigeria in 2005, I spent over a month teaching English at a government junior secondary school for girls in Benin City. Every Wednesday someone would visit the school and preach in the name of Christian faith to the children before classes. One Wednesday I listened to the message presented to the children. The woman preaching warned them that some of their schoolmates could posses “juju” (devilish spiritual powers), which could cause them or their family members physical harm and even death. She went on to say that the only means of defense was prayer and faith in the Christian God. In short, instead of receiving a message based on the Christian principle of “love thy neighbor,” the girls were told to distrust everyone around them, even those closest to them.

During my second trip to Nigeria in 2006, where I conducted research on the topic of the “ritual killing” of human beings, it became apparent that the message of distrust presented to the school children was by no means an isolated incident. After conducting over thirty interviews in Lagos, Ibadan, and Benin City, I came to the conclusion that Nigerian society suffers from a lack of trust among many of her citizens, and this distrust influences and is perpetuated by beliefs in the supernatural.

This essay presents my reflections on the gospel of distrust as it plays out in the idiom of the ritual killing of human beings. Before proceeding, let me state clearly that I am an “outsider” to Nigerian society and only have limited experience in the country. For this reason, all of my judgments and conclusions should be received critically. It is my hope, however, that my perspective can somehow enrich the dialog on the topic of “ritual killing.”

Ritual Killing

In Nigeria, “ritual killing” is a colloquialism that refers to the use of human body parts to summon Gods and supernatural powers to intervene in the physical world. While there is a portion of the Nigerian public that believes in ritual killing, which will be described in more detail below, others reject it as baseless “superstition.” For the remainder of this essay, I refer to the Nigerians who believe in the power of ritual killing as “believers,” those who do not as “non-believers,” and those somewhere in the middle as “the undecided.” [1] This essay focuses on what ritual killing signifies for the believers.

What Nigerians generally refer to as “native doctors” is important in understanding ritual killing. Native doctors specialize in mediating the human and spiritual realms by using human body parts. Believers maintain that native doctors can use human body parts to summon the powers of gods who then provide patrons with such things as wealth, power, protection from enemies, cures to illnesses, longer life, and so on. An important point to be made is that unlike non-believers, believers do not doubt the ability of native doctors to mediate the physical and spiritual realms. Believers are therefore presented with the following choice: either solicit native doctors and become rich, powerful, healthy, and so on, or reject these material benefits out of moral conviction. Clearly, this choice creates a moral dilemma, which non-believers are not presented with because they do not believe in the power of native doctors. In short, for believers the decision on whether or not to solicit the work of a native doctor is based on morality, not skepticism.

With the decision to participate in ritual killing, which requires acquiring human body parts, being a moral dilemma for believers, it should not be a surprise that buyers exist. Indeed, there will always be people willing to abandon moral principle for wealth, power, and other selfish ends. Likewise, it should be no surprise that suppliers exists with buyers ready to part with large amounts of naira (Nigerian currency) for anyone that can provide human body parts. Given the absence of skepticism, basic economic theory is easily satisfied as demand creates supply; the result being a market for human body parts.

The existence of a market where supply is created through kidnapping, killing, and dismembering humans is breeding ground for fear and distrust among Nigerians. It should be stated that many of the stories surrounding the ritual killing of human beings are unsubstantiated rumors. Nevertheless, there are incidents, such as the infamous Okija shrine case in 2004, where headless bodies, skulls and other remains of dead humans are found by authorities. Such incidents indicate that the fear of being a victim of ritual killing among Nigerians is well-founded.

But regardless of whether or not individual stories about ritual killing are true, I found that the general discussion surrounding the topic reveals a pervasive lack of trust in Nigerian society. This insight becomes clear when we consider how the discussion on ritual killing is infused with references to traditional beliefs in the supernatural, Christianity, corruption, political and economic power, and other salient features of Nigerian society. I explore the connection between some of these features and ritual killing in the following sections.

The Gospel of Distrust

An important finding from my research is that one of the prevailing denominations of Christianity in Nigeria, Pentecostalism, encourages Nigerians to be suspicious of peoples’ successes and personal misfortunes because ostensibly they often come as a result of ritual killing. To understand how I arrive at this finding, we need to explore the connection between Christianity, traditional supernatural beliefs, and ritual killing.

In Nigeria, Christianity provides space for traditional beliefs in the supernatural to maintain “existence.” Instead of eliminating traditional gods from the pantheon, for believers the Christianization of Nigeria only relegated traditional gods as agents of the devil. As previously stated, such agents can be wielded by native doctors to provide for their patrons such things as wealth, power, and protection by offering these gods human body parts. Believers claim that what is provided by these devilish gods only lasts for a short period and that there is always a price to pay for summoning their power. For example, native doctors can be informed by these gods that the patron must sacrifice the life of a close relative in order for their wealth and prosperity to be sustained.

According to believers, only the Christian god can provide long-lasting prosperity with no price to be paid, however patience is often required as He waits to see who will be tempted by the devil. Given this belief, it is no wonder that various forms of success are attributed to ritual killing. The forms of success could be anything from profitable business to high fertility to good health. Moreover, believers see ritual killing also an explanation for misfortune. For example, sickness, infertility, and poverty may come as a result of someone who uses the power of ritual killing to inflict pain on a foe.

In short, what followers of Pentecostalism and other Christian denominations learn is to be suspicious of others’ successes and personal misfortunes as they may be a result of participation in ritual killing. The implication is that distrust is easily spread, particularly given the difficulty of verifying the source or cause of success and misfortune since “physical eyes” cannot be relied on to see what occurs in the “spiritual world.”

The Politics of Ritual Killing

It is assumed by believers that most of the Nigerian political and business elite participate in ritual killing in order to actualize political and business ambitions and to protect themselves against opposition. The association between Nigerian elites and ritual killing reveals a well-founded belief that political and economic power in Nigeria is often achieved through corrupt and illegitimate means. However, for believers the source of power to engage in corrupt practices in the physical world comes through summoning corrupt and devilish supernatural powers. Non-believers disagree.

For non-believers, the belief that political and economic power is achieved and maintained through corrupting supernatural forces only makes addressing the problem of corruption more difficult. Non-believers maintain that this belief represents Nigerians feeling of powerlessness in stemming corruption and making the government more responsive to citizens’ concerns. Thus, the belief leaves no viable means of changing the political situation in the country, particularly when we consider the proposed solutions coming out of Pentecostalism.

As previously stated, Pentecostalism, as preached in Nigeria, spreads the idea that outcomes in the physical world come as a result of the spiritual world. Accordingly, since the root cause of Nigeria’s corrupt political and economic elite is spiritual depravity, spiritual means must be used to change things in the country. To fight back, religious leaders arm Nigerians with the “power of prayer.” But for non-believers offering prayer as the primary solution is equivalent to supporting the corrupt status quo; addressing the problem demands concrete action.

Humanism as a Way Forward

Through working to make the Humanist philosophy an “aspect of Nigerian culture,” the Nigerian Humanist Movement (NHM), with Leo Igwe as its Executive-Secretary, is challenging the beliefs surrounding ritual killing and other forms of religious dogmatism and occultism in Nigeria and Africa at large. According to this philosophy, instead of understanding the world through inherited religious doctrine or “superstition,” humans should rely on reason, experience, and shared values. Moreover, humanism asserts that humanity is better able to find solutions to the world’s problems by promoting individual rights, freedom and responsibility as well as social cooperation and mutual respect.

According to Igwe, the NHM is working to integrate the humanist philosophy into Nigerian cultural through. Most importantly, the movement provides space for Nigerians, whether they be agnostics, atheists, or believers, to express openly their doubts regarding religion and other unchallenged assumptions about the nature of existence. The movement is also fighting for Humanism to be placed on government school curriculums, alongside the extant courses on Christianity and Islam. According to Igwe, the current curriculum trains students to defend a religious perspective, either Christianity or Islam, and as a result, Nigerian children are discouraged at an early age from asking questions which challenge mainstream religious and supernatural beliefs. Furthermore, the movement is set on establishing a national center in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, where it can better influence legislation and the general political discourse in the country.

In my view, the efforts described above challenge in two important ways the core underpinnings of ritual killing – specifically the assumption that personal success and misfortune as well as political and economic power are associated with the supernatural. First, providing a space for non-believers and the undecided to voice their views openly on the topic is a necessary step in encouraging the believers to question the validity of ritual killing. Secondly, encouraging rational interrogation of religious dogmas is a necessary step in weakening the link between Pentecostalism (and other Christian denominations) and ritual killing. It is my belief that these steps can only help create possibilities for Nigerians to better challenge political and economic corruption and combat the pervasive distrust plaguing the society.

[1] One thing should be made clear. While I do not know the proportion of the believers, undecided, and non-believers in the Nigerian population, based on my research the believers by no means appear to be a small and insignificant portion of the population.

Stephen Roblin is an American who worked as a volunteer with NHM last year


This is a revised version of the article, which was submitted by the author on 19 July 2009 -- Ed.

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i want to join those pleading for this woman not so much for her but for her children who are innocent victims of this scenario.all the outrageous comments condemning the woman for portraying nigeria in bad light will not help the kids! neither will nigeria's image problem be improved by hurting these children through deportation to the hostile environment the nigerian leaders have reduced the country to!so,for the children's sake, i plead with the uk government to please let them be.uk will not lose by deporting them because they are potential human assets as has been attested to by thyeir uk community support

Hon. Minister, You will be helping humanity by granting Mrs. Oderinde and her children her heart desire to be granted a stay. First and foremost, Britain is an age long Christian society with a lot of compassion and respect for the widow. The holy Bible asks for special favour for the widow. It will be suicidal for her request to be turned down as it will be too frustrating and heart-breaking for the lady and her children. British age long humanitarianism on issues like this needs to be enacted in this particular case. I therfore passionately plead for the Hon. Minister's favoured consideration and also for Her Royal Majesty, the Queen's support and consent on this very crucial matter, which is now a global concern for millions of people who are very much touched without knowing the family at all. God bless you all.

True or not, it is now more imperative that this woman should be granted an assylum. why? she will not be able to return to the same community after "washing their dirty linen in public" Let the UK government be cautious on the side of safety for her and her children

What else did you expect from a govt when her country want to deliver her duties , will it be at the pereal of a woman or to the obligation of her country , UK and Nigerian has their ties and i believe that if UK refuses Nigerian , but still Nigeria will refuse UK . Is a normal thing , if you feel very uncomfortable because of a woman who travel to UK since a long time and now deem it important to send her back , it is ok and i believe that everything regarding whatsoever thathas made her run must has subpassed, or forgotten , Again she must not forget that , if she did not have money to ran awy in the first place , she will still be in somewhere around the Nigerian territory , Thank God her is able and now he have to come back home , Home is the best.
Alot of our guys and girls out there are looking for a possible mean of getting back home from UK but , they cannot because of certain things.
Anyway in a nut shell , if UK want her to go back to her mother land , that should not raise any alarm, do it once and life goes on. I am not a sister to Maryam Oderinde, but i am a nigerian and i speak from my present feeling here too.

I just can not understand the benefit Nigerians are geting from their colonial master Britain.are they claiming ignorant of the rituals in Nigeria ?
can't Nigerians as once Birtish children run to them for shelter or whatever assistant we may need from them ?
Nigeria high commision in Britain should wake up to this case.

Pls I beg the government of U k to pls have mercy on this woman and her children and grant them a stay for the sake of these children.

Listen one door close another open I myself have been that done that tell them the trough store my friend they all human they also have family like you they will listen to you,nothing wrong with nigeria.Nigeria today is better than yesterday good luck.

First, The mother of the four kids never comitted any crime while staying in th UK, she his realy in need of help.
they should be given Asylum. Staying away from bad family is alway the best way to leave long life in another county.

most people that have commented in support that the family should be sent back home, are likely to be serving politicians that are enjoying their stay in nigeria at the expence of their corruption. they are the main evil in the country infact they are the originator of most rituals. no true nigerian would not claim ignorance that all these are happening. our leaders should be ashamed, if we can take a survey it would be discovered that majority of the people governing us , have their children out there in uk having a good life because they can easily afford it with their stolen money. we dont have to pretend about situations of things in nigeria, we all know its bad. pls for God sake the family should be considered for assylum

I belive UK have respect in the life of people and they fight against human
right they should leave the woman and her children instead of expecting their
OBITUARY.I am a nigerian and I know such a thing in some local area in
nigeria especialy from a ROYAL HOME

Please kindly send me an update on the issue once the family has been granted asylum, so that my mind can be at peace please.
To the UK government please grant this family asylum I guess that wont be too much to ask.

It is a pitty to keep washing our linen outside for the sake of living in whiteman's country. Whereas what we have in our country in terms of material, human and natural resources is not gotten in these countries most Nigerian ruch to for God's knows best reasons! Though babaric and inhuman to hear that families in this 21st century istill carry out such stupid sacrifice. The issue is you can not eat your cake and have. The lady who decided to marry from such a family ought to know the outcome consequences - tradition and religion. I am sure if she had gotten married to a Christian home, if her story is true, no one would dare want her son presented for ritual when the LORD JESUS CHRIST has done it all for our sake. The best support these groups that want her not to be deported should also move a strong link and campaign to stop ritural killings in Nigeria and other African nations where such evil acts persists. As a constant traveller to many countries in Asia, Europe and the UK, I often feel bad tyo see the way my country men and women are treated. It is time we return home and build our nations. These other countries fought wars, and went through all forms of problems and difficultues to build what emigrants now freely enjoy. On my last note, let the UK Home Office investigate this allegation by the woman, if found to be true, let her be issued with visiting visa and give her appropriate time to allow her formalise her documentations. It is evidently unacceptable in an enlightened socity for her to visit another country, stayed for years without having required papers that permits such stay. We must learn to do things right and stop being sentimental. The wrong has been done in the first place.

My fellow Nigerians, I must say that we do not have any image we are protecting here in this country when all we know how to do best is killing all in the name of one stupid tradition. Infact not only tradition but also those in high position todayalso enguage in ritual killing in order to retain their position. i urge Nigerians to go back to God be it a christian or a musilim and stop all this madness about killing for tradition sake. As for Britin this is the least you can do for a Nigerian remember you colonized us and we can run to you for safty in times of difficulty so please grant this woman her stay. I believe what this woman is saying she cannot go this far simply because she wants to get a better life there there is no place like home. afterall she has her own family but she knows they would catch up with her if she stays back in this countrylastly i don't think the government of our Dear Nigeria can help us stop this because the people there (top leaders) are doing same we nigerians just have to be carefull and wise and Pray for God direction and Guidence. Jos, Nigeria.

Uk authority, should please save those innocent children from the hand of the ritualist.

That SOME Nigerians are bad does not mean that we should accept every story told by anybody. If u think Nigeria is too bad, as a Nigerian, what are u doing in your own area to better her? Let's try to live by example, 1+1=2 and 2+1=3.........n. Do that which u think is right and let me do same also, and u will find out that we have 2 "rights" and who knows if that may take a geometric progression? Moreover, some people try to take this matter too personal by mentioning names and insulting fellow visitors, but I think that is not wise at all, please let them refrain from such act because it exposes their level of understanding and reasoning........an advice anyway! God bless u. The UK, please kindly grant them asylum BUT prove her right or wrong!

Please the Authorities in Uk should allow them STAY and please kindly grant them asylum

If British authority should grant them asylum, that should be on
compassionate ground, not based on that cookand bull story, the woman just framed up. Look, you Nigerias over there should be very careful on
how youdent Nigeria image there. Asfor you,
unpatrotic elements here who feel that
they don't have imaged to protect I reserve my comment. Besides,
Nigeria government should take this women's cooked up story serious
and make an invesigation and right action taken.

@Aigbiremon Mathias you are only telling the truth, no body should
use the name/image of the country to achieve their personal interest,
Her stories might be real but are the inhabitats of the country all
canovorous?
@john, you don't need to be ash on any one on this issue its a free and
open world for all to say his/her mind. i beleive you are from this
part of the world, so don't use your anger on any body

the making of men and women is purelya product of humanitarian nature of gd
THUS the best service the immigration will do this year is to help this woman.
nothing makes God happy than saving another soul from dying to ignnorance
of tribe or culture

the making of men and women is purelya product of humanitarian nature of gd
THUS the best service the immigration will do this year is to help this woman.
nothing makes God happy than saving another soul from dying to ignnorance
of tribe or culture

What Nigerian government are you talking about?Is it not this bunch of OTTA-FARM -OGBONI ritualists and secret human blood oat takers.forget it folks.revolution soon will take care of these evils in Nigeria.

Human parts are not hard to obtain in any given locality in Nigeria,This is to tell you the alarming rate of this ritual scorage in Nigeria.Precisly go to the JANKARA mkt. lagos to prove any doubting Thomas wrong.

the countries where we all cherish freedom and enjoy abundant human rights were based on laws and a sizeable obedient citizens of these laws. the entire universe is built on certain laws. the world where laws are written and disobeyed by the majority of the citizens; is a world where allowance is afforded infringment of civil rights, human rights and constituitional rights. general comments here are the likes that is ruining nigeria. a little break of law here and there. a little kindness by law breaking, the very law that hold the society together. such is our story and the story of nigeria. laws are not for us. we are not geneticaly made to live under any law. we must trample and trivilize any laws. if nigeria is to rise again, the likes of the commentors here would be expected to play roles in the rise of a dying country. where is the strenght?

highly placed nigerian govt.functionaries time and again keep blocking the move to abolish ritualism ,cause they will be directly affected.

waooo without any question grant her the stay for God sake our politicians get stay easily for stealing money in nigerian, then why cant this nice hard working and willing and contributing to the uk nation be givien a stay with out any question? oh God what is happen. hhhhmmm first world nation?

Please for goodness sake, where is this woman actually from? Which Town, City, Clan, Local Govt, & State is she from. It is high time we stop all this nonsense. In as much as some of us do not believe in the corporate entity known as Nigeria b/c of the insensitivity of the so called leaders of greed; but painting Nigeria black intentionally irritates some of us.

When this women left Nigeria to Britain in 2002, what did she tell them at the Embassy? What type of papers did she present to them at the Embassy to enable her get visa? Are we sure that her husband is actually dead? Where did this woman attend schools in Nigeria, & what was she doing in Nigeria b/4 she left for UK in 2002. She must be a very rich women to take one of her children on vacation to UK then. Please enough of this nonsense.

This women is just making up this stupid story & s/one there should tell her that she is a liar. Are we sure this women is actually a Nigerian?

Have a look at this!From vangard newspapers of19 august 2009....(OTOKOTO)again in Imo!...Girl 18,beheaded for rituals...the police had as prime suspect,24year old Emeka Uwakwe from Arondizuogu in Imo state clutching the decapitated head of his girl friend Chinwe,18 from Akokwa both in Imo state for ritual.

We are wonderful when in problems. my sister those not know rituality up till she gave birth to four children in 9ija and even when she got to uk with one of them and even when she was able to smuggle the remaining three to join her there. Even when she settled them for years. my sister only remember ritual when she apprehended for not having right papers to live in uk. I understand her problem put the truth is that these oyibo people knows us more than all these sentiments we are talking about. so let stop fooling ourselves.

This woman should be allowed to live.Is her only crime that of finding herself in the uk or has she in anyway constituted herself a nuisance?The authorities should look into her pitious fate and grant her and her children the right to live,afterall we have most of them here who are living freely without genuine permites.

WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF BRITISH COLONIZATION OF NIGERIA

This story has further reiforces my personal conviction that the worst thing
that has happened to Nigeria was for her to be colonized by Britain.

It is a pity that even with such a story, British government still believe that
the best assistance to give to this woman and her children is to threaten them with deportation.

Look at all the countries that were colonized by the french.. what you see is
progress at all fronts. But for those colonized by the british, all you see is
meaness, seft-centeredness, corruption by the leaders, largely encouraged
by britain. Our leaders steal our money to develop their countries, yet,
they pretend to be our friends. THEY ARE NOT.

French government would have been very happy to assist this woman, even
to the level of providing scholarships for her four children. what is British
government doing...Threaten her with deportation. This is shameful!

May God help them.

having stayed and already got her children schooling in the uk, the authorities concerned should be humane enough to allow her n her sons to move on, after all none of them have been found wanting of any crime.

It's quite sad that the image of the general populace of Nigeria is been dented because of the selfish interest of one family. Nigeria is not a country of ritualist. I would rather Mrs Oderinde look for another reason why the U.K Govt should pardon her, rather than dent the collective image of our nation. True, home is hard, but not that barbaric. We have knife killings and mobbing in U.K but that is no enough reason for them to seek asylum.
Let her be truthful and stop giving a dog a bad name cause you want to hang it.

we need to hear the side story of this case from border control .But on the aspect of what we read from this story,i am appealling to the authority of united kingdom to have mercy on this case and allowed MRS ODERINDE AND HIS CHILDREN TO STAY IN UK
thanking you sir

whatever may be the reason for her staying in UK, the govt should be considerate as far as she and her family are obedient to the laws of the land. I plead with the UK government to allow her stay, even if not permanent, atleast for her innocent children to grow up and be men before leaving for nigeria. so that they can defend themself from their barbaric culture and customs. Lets be our brothers' keeper.

i now see the light. the difference between the developed world and the undeveloped world is the existence of the law that is maitained for the benefit of all. laws do not bend or the society will fall and become history. there are strigent laws in the books in nigeria but were abjectly disregarded and nigeria is rapidly dying. its citizens absolutely reject enforcement of the laws in the books thus we bribe, we corrupt the police and the judge . the country is imploding, the brightest minds that the country brags off still do not see that it is the law that develops the whiteman's country where they found refuge and succour. we may complain until the return of our lord jesus christ, without obedience to the law of the land; we will never be blessed with a viable coutry the type that the whiteman created and which we envy so much.using ones own children and making nigerians abroad to start to explain genilal mutilation, human sacrifice etc is not the way to go. the resurgence of nigeria is in the hands of each of us. that it would not be said of me that the image of nigeria is tarnished.

Wow!!..a lot of people are really denting the english language here, i'll just pretend your keyboards are chinese(no offense chinkos)..if the British Government find the family's claims are real,they should try and give them asylum. But c'mon the woman said she didnt know how to apply for it???..thats a very flimsy excuse..

All I knew is that Aduge is in Ondo State but if they do human sacrifice for a
King to be buried, I don't know. My opinion is to make sure the woman and
her 4 kids are safe first, then we can investigate. Please grant them stay in
the UK then do your investigation. Lets protect the image of our country......
Nigeria is never as horrible as must of us paint her.

Well, to me i just plead with UK government to grant her and the children asylum not on the basis of her cooked story but for development of her children, you never can tell these children can become heroes for UK in terms of sports and others. Let's think of it;- where is ADUGE in Nigeria, - her three children were able to survive for two years in Nigeria before they joined her in 2004, - Yoruba culture holds that '' a ki n'fi omo ire bo ire'' meaning that ''sons and daughters of a land/clan/settlement/ cannot be used as sacrifice for the gods of the same land''.

I have been dehumanized by a Nigerian Ex wife for the same purpose that this woman has made her country to be,monsters,cannibalism and what have you.To get their stay,make money to feed her self ,build a big house in Nigeria and drive a Jeep like a man.That is the whole truth Nigerians.What goes around comes around.

This is very appaling. Destroying the name of your land and country for the sake of a piece of paper!

As for the UK Border Agency, you have been taken for a ride, thThis is very appaling. Destroying the name of your land and country for the sake of a piece of paper!

As for the UK Border Agency, you have been taken for a ride, the misrable woman has simply told you what you wanted to hear - the land of babarians, crooks, cannibals, animals......... This story simply didn't gel. It reeks of wicked mischief.

I wonder how her family, friends and associates are recieving this blantant lie back home - if ever they get to read this heart rending lies told against dear Nigeria. Nigeria may not be the best place to live, but surely, it is better there than the condition that I have seen some Nigerians living in Europe. You may find this hard to believe, but it is the truth.

Mrs Oderinde and her ilks are worst than the inept politicians we curse everyday. They have brought more misfortune to Nigeria and Nigerians than the thieving politicians.

What I am sure of is that individuals like Oderinde will bite their fingers at the end of the day. They will one day return to a land they wantomly bring to disrepute for narrow personal gains.

Talk of selling your soul and people for a bowl of porridge!e misrable woman has simply told you what you wanted to hear - the land of babarians, crooks, cannibals, animals......... This story simply didn't gel. It reeks of wicked mischief.

I wonder how her family, friends and associates are recieving this blantant lie back home - if ever they get to read this heart rending lies told against dear Nigeria. Nigeria may not be the best place to live, but surely, it is better there than the condition that I have seen some Nigerians living in Europe. You may find this hard to believe, but it is the truth.

Mrs Oderinde and her ilks are worst than the inept politicians we curse everyday. They have brought more misfortune to Nigeria and Nigerians than the thieving politicians.

What I am sure of is that individuals like Oderinde will bite their fingers at the end of the day. They will one day return to a land they wantomly bring to disrepute for narrow personal gains.

Talk of selling your soul and people for a bowl of porridge!

I dnt know wat people are talking abt nigeria image 4,this a system that is rotten to its core,we are like a load ladened hunchback the d crookedness started from d bottom,if the story of kids being maimed bcos dey are meant 2 be witches if dem kids are here they will be said to be liars,the story of obas with a corpse of a youth corper that went unpunished is another place to look these are all d caught drop in d vast ocean of ritual killling and killings in my country,i grew up in d north of nigeria where i have witnessed my friends killed,my own brother saved at d last minute after being hung leg 1st 2 die,and u said nigeria image cmonnnnn guys. i dnt moan but give me a break about nigerias image.i dont hate my country but i hate the people veering it.i will commit to a revolution rite now wit no questions asked.

Shut up kola,maybe u grew up in a cocoon where u never left ur house,but i will tell dis categorically, if u in nigeria b4 or maybe u r chauffer driven around it,u ll c stuff that will break ur heart i have seen many things in my young life if i was born in europe i ll be getting counselling till i die,they are people that are seeing things the normal and not living in mad peoples land,if the obas can eat human flesh and a lady like erelu is fightin this cause the coward will be my word 4 u if u still think dem kids,should be subjected 2 dis horrific experience, what nigeria doin to help are citizens nothing instead u have a minister buying 60 shops in expensive dubai,i have d mayor of my area in my house for a meeting wit no1 but himself to listen 2 a suggestion from me a common man and we spoke 4 hours,if thats in nigeria who want 2 listen to my opinion.am sick and tired of people like you trying to pull scarve over a should over a stupid naked child,am worried for my `failed` nation.and by Allah will i not pray for a coup at this point i rather buhari or babangida dan all d present day blue collar criminals.

I wish to add my humble voice to all the pleas to the UK authorities to legalize this woman's and her children's residence. In her 7 years' sojourn she has lived peacefully with the citizens and not been found to have broken the laws of your land. What further evidence is there that she is worthy of passage to and residence in UK irrespective of any reasons for fleeing her home country. She has made her restitution and proven she is a worthy sourjoner and the authorities should be willing to help and support the cause of a genuine struggling law-abiding Nigerian mother.

In Domino Confidimus
In God We Trust

Abbey

The true story of this woman needs to be established more so when she aledged the death of her husband to a ritual killing. While i bilief that the result of that findings will make her a lair of this century mercy and compassion should be extended to those innosent children whose hands are clean. This woman is one of the many who have put the life of themselevs and their children on line for better life.
Can you blame them? The so call loothers who parade themselves as leaders are more to blame they tanish the image of the country and cause more untimely death of the citzens as a result of bad roads, lack of clinics and hospitals, job lost armed roberyto make ends meet

I will never want to live in Nigeria for any reason other than being home sick. Nigeria suck. God bless UK. please grant the woman assylum so her children can have and enjoy good life.

people from royal families know what they go through when they lose a member of the family, when they die they are not buried like ordinary people they take their royality to the grave with human heads to accompany them there, some take the heads of salveswhil others thake foreigner or when the sacrifice is being carried out anyone that mistakenly come around will be buried alongside. some take the head of their children. this things are not revealed to a foreigner who gets married to them in order not to scare them away. here in Nigeria, there are so many people today who still eat human flesh. thgey just kignap them and before you know what is happening they are history. that is why most people today run from their home land and even they do not take their wives or husbands relatives to their village. it is high time nigerians abroad learn to speak the truth about their country and not to hide the evil deeds there some people claim she is denting the image of there country yes i agree with what she said because it is trhe truth. learn to say and fight for the truth even if you are at the point of death.
And as for you Nelo you must be an old fool otherwise you will not call people unpatrotic elements when they are saying the truth if care is not taken i think the should also investigate you because reading your comment tells you are a ritualist that is
why you don't want this woman to expose people like you. i guess you can help the Nigerian government to investigate and take right action on this woman's story MR BASKET MOUTH ZIP IT UP. JOS NIGERIA

people from royal families know what they go through when they lose a member of the family, when they die they are not buried like ordinary people they take their royality to the grave with human heads to accompany them there, some take the heads of salveswhil others thake foreigner or when the sacrifice is being carried out anyone that mistakenly come around will be buried alongside. some take the head of their children. this things are not revealed to a foreigner who gets married to them in order not to scare them away. here in Nigeria, there are so many people today who still eat human flesh. thgey just kignap them and before you know what is happening they are history. that is why most people today run from their home land and even they do not take their wives or husbands relatives to their village. it is high time nigerians abroad learn to speak the truth about their country and not to hide the evil deeds there some people claim she is denting the image of there country yes i agree with what she said because it is trhe truth. learn to say and fight for the truth even if you are at the point of death.
And as for you Nelo you must be an old fool otherwise you will not call people unpatrotic elements when they are saying the truth if care is not taken i think the should also investigate you because reading your comment tells you are a ritualist that is
why you don't want this woman to expose people like you. i guess you can help the Nigerian government to investigate and take right action on this woman's story MR BASKET MOUTH ZIP IT UP. JOS NIGERIA

should i break the law becos u are angry?there is no human rigth in NIGERIA, when u have 10 naira u have 10 naira rigth in NIGERIA.corruption and GOVERNMENT in NIGERIA is wow, UK can u pls for once grant this 1 at of million that rubish stay for once,becos u forgot u came to african illegally and committ wounderful harm to us way back.

Comment from Yakubu in Abuja. UK government, please allowed the poor woman to hide herself and the children there in UK because corruptions, robbery, and cheating that has erupted Nigeria. Even I myself I'm opportune to leave this country I will leave because Many Nigerian are not happy of staying in this country. Please, UK government allowed to stay.

The woman and her children should be granted assylum for the sake of God. Aside from ritual killngs which is a common phenomenon in Nigeria, the situation in the country is disheartning. no good roads, high unemployment rate,no food security, no job security, poor pay for those who manage to get employment, poor living conditions among so many ills plaguing this Nigeria. If i get a chance too, i will leave. But my fear is, is other country safe to live too?. We learnt from the news some couple of days ago of some people who are human eaters in Russia. I hope the hunt for greener pastures will not end one in someone else's stomach. We need revolution to change the situation of things in Nigeria

The woman and her children should be granted assylum for the sake of God. Aside from ritual killngs which is a common phenomenon in Nigeria, the situation in the country is disheartning. no good roads, high unemployment rate,no food security, no job security, poor pay for those who manage to get employment, poor living conditions among so many ills plaguing this Nigeria. If i get a chance too, i will leave. But my fear is, is other country safe to live too?. We learnt from the news some couple of days ago of some people who are human eaters in Russia. I hope the hunt for greener pastures will not end one in someone else's stomach. We need revolution to change the situation of things in Nigeria

The woman and her children should be granted assylum for the sake of God. Aside from ritual killngs which is a common phenomenon in Nigeria, the situation in the country is disheartning. no good roads, high unemployment rate,no food security, no job security, poor pay for those who manage to get employment, poor living conditions among so many ills plaguing this Nigeria. If i get a chance too, i will leave. But my fear is, is other country safe to live too?. We learnt from the news some couple of days ago of some people who are human eaters in Russia. I hope the hunt for greener pastures will not end one in someone else's stomach. We need revolution to change the situation of things in Nigeria

The woman and her children should be granted assylum for the sake of God. Aside from ritual killngs which is a common phenomenon in Nigeria, the situation in the country is disheartning. no good roads, high unemployment rate,no food security, no job security, poor pay for those who manage to get employment, poor living conditions among so many ills plaguing this Nigeria. If i get a chance too, i will leave. But my fear is, is other country safe to live too?. We learnt from the news some couple of days ago of some people who are human eaters in Russia. I hope the hunt for greener pastures will not end one in someone else's stomach. We need revolution to change the situation of things in Nigeria

The woman and her children should be granted assylum for the sake of God. Aside from ritual killngs which is a common phenomenon in Nigeria, the situation in the country is disheartning. no good roads, high unemployment rate,no food security, no job security, poor pay for those who manage to get employment, poor living conditions among so many ills plaguing this Nigeria. If i get a chance too, i will leave. But my fear is, is other country safe to live too?. We learnt from the news some couple of days ago of some people who are human eaters in Russia. I hope the hunt for greener pastures will not end one in someone else's stomach. We need revolution to change the situation of things in Nigeria

So many Nigerians have said a lot of things here. All i will do is to lend my voice to the call to UK home office to grant the woman and the kids asylum. It would have been a different case if this woman and her kids has records or criminal activities. All the woman is running for is the economic hardship in Nigeria and not ritual killing in my view. However,this is not to say it does'nt happen in Nigeria. But,those painting horrible pictures of things in Nigeria miss it all. However bad it may be at home,your home will be your home whether you accept it or not. One day, you will need that country so bad that you won't have a choice than to return there. All the rot in that country can be blamed on UK and these other western countries who colaborate with our thieving leaders. Can they deny not keeping the money stolen by our leaders for them? Where else do they think we will run to if not UK. British government,you have'nt seen anything. I will soon join and millions of Nigerians will still bombard UK. Just watch.

It is rather unbelievable that in Nigeria such an awkward tradition is still taking place. It's a disgrace to Nigeria and Africans as a whole. Please save the mother and her chilldren.

Okenwa, Rome

The situation this lady and her four children are facing can be likened to " someone trying to take a bananna from a monkeys hand, it will definitely fight back to keep to keep his food",a mother trying to raise her children in a more economically viable country where the basic neccessities of life are easily affordable. Her children have a better chance of becoming sane and valued member of any society at large. At least in Societies like in the UK, you can work hard and reap the benefits of your hardwork unlike in Nigeria where a common man has no chance at all - there is not enough industries to cater for the tons of graduate leaving the university every year - research has shown that less than 1% graduates actually get employed. The 1% obviously have the so called "connections",where in the world is Nigeria heading to. Lives of thousands of Nigeria youths are being wasted in diaspora, they cannot return home to nothing and yet they are unable to achieve their full potentials as Nigerian university undergraduates.

I am joining the hundreds of people appealing to the UK goverment to tamper justice with mercy, let this woman and her kids remain in the UK on compassionate ground, she has done extremely well to send her children to school while probably holding 2 or more jobs.

To all politicians in Nigeria, please do the right thing and serve your country with all your might and power. There is a reward in this, seek knowledge and understanding, get wisdom, ask questions..Have compassion for the less priviledged in the society.

NIGERIANS ARE HURTING OOOOOOOOOOOO

Kola, i dont know where exactly you hail from but am sure if we trace your background you must be from the family that has contributed to Nigeria doom. You are in cambridge,reacting to stories you dont know about,even if shes telling lies to the authority,do you consider the lives of the innocent children involved?. I pray that God should forgive you your sins. People are running away from Nigeria even to neighbouring countries like Benin, Togo, Ghana etc insearch of safety but because you are in an organised country, you dont know what people are facing back home. Please grant the woman and her children leave to remain on compassionate ground.

enough of this ritual killing crap. the fact is people die everyday. and ritual killings in nigeria is not enough of a percentage of those dying everyday, to make it an issue. what about gang killings in the uk, racist killings and allthat. the truth is these children could get killed just as well in the uk as in Nigeria. so please let us stop denting the image of our country Nigeria in the name of getting a visa.i think the uk government should do what they consuder right after they have thoroughly examined this lady's case. has she committed any crime? does she pay her tax? will she be a credit to their community? these questions only. not the other one of ritual killin

Who's fooling who?Those talking about rituals & cannibalism should please tell us where they are from & the frequency of rituals/cannibalism as it occurs there!Stop saying 'Nigeria' generally or quoting newspapers as if they are reliable authorities!Let me set example:I am from Ubulu-Uno in Aniocha South Local Govt. of Delta State,Nigeria.There are no ritual killings/cannibalism there-feel free to investigate.Speak for yourself & help us to know Nigeria!As for the woman,I challenge her and/or her supporters to tell me where Aduge is.I'll send my comments afterwards.It shall be well with Nigeria in Jesus' name-Amen!

I will like to plead on behalf of the Oderinde's and the Children, UK should grant them asylum

I found this blog that has listed a list of the most expensive keywords though I can vouch on its veracity ,The list seems authentic enough.

hello home office, i just want to let you know that Nigeria is good and also some part is bad, infact if you come from those places that are not good, you will regret coming this life or you are within the wicked people or wicked family, you will definately know what they are facing before they left nigeria to uk, please for sake of the living god ,please grant them what they are asking for and if they are not good there would campaign on their behalf, that show they are good people with mind and character. so please grant them asylum

hello home office, i just want to say that the woman is right because their are some family that ritual killing or any other types of killing are predominant and therefore i do beleive her ,as a result i want you to your good office in giving her and her children asylum so that they can enjoy their stay in uk

I am joining the thousands of people appealing to the UK goverment to tamper justice with mercy, let this woman and her kids remain in the UK on compassionate ground, she has done extremely well to send her children to school while probably holding 2 or more jobs.
PLEASE ALLOW THE WOMAN AND HER KIDS TO STAY IN UK

please whoever is concerned should assist this woman and her kids, this place called Nigeria is does not give hope to the hopeless, even the rich knows this themselves.

I live in Arizona and I don't normally agree with illegal immigration, however in extreme cases such as this where the punishment will be death to one or all of the family members, they should be granted asylum to stay at least until they find somewhere else the family can go.

It appears most of you do not know the UKBA! They are a heartless people and a modern racist agency like the BBC. Rgardless of what proof this lady will bring before them they will still deport her.

They live to serve their master who play politics with lives of innocent citizens! God will visit them very soon and they wld be scattered amongest the nations beyond their imagination!

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This is really a great blog to visit daily it has got all the stuff that i wanted to know with deep knowledge of each topic and very great posts too. Keep up the good work going...

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PEOPLE WILL TELL ALL SORTS OF LIES, LIES AND LIES against their own country , even against their own mother , just to get Stay and Work Permit , to remain in Great Britain!
Very , very sad and shameful , indeed!
I am sure this woman is a big liar. I can bet my last penny on this!
May God judge and punish her and all the other Nigerians who go abroad to rubbish their race , their country and to disgrace themselves just because they want to remain abroad!

I know this because in 1999, my neighbour and his wife planned that she should come to the U.K. with their baby daughter (3 years old then) and claim asylum by telling a terrible lie.
Their plan was that after getting her asylum by ugly lies , which will then entitle her to a good house and a good job , the husband and their five children will then join her in the U.K.
Her story was that because she caught her husband and his friend having homosexual sex, she had to go into hiding in her church compound because her husband and his family wanted to kill her and silence her from revealing his shameful homsexuality!
When they couldn't find her , they threatened to circumcise her last child , her only daughter.
After some time the Pastor she was hiding with, tried four times to rape her, so she escaped from there into the bush to hide , where she ate leaves and grubs for one whole month!
She went to the police but the corrupt Nigeria policemen demanded for sex and money from her! Then she didn't know where on earth to turn to again and there was nobody to help her.
So her father sold his house and land and advised her to run away with her daughter to far away Britain to seek asylum and refuge from her husband and his people who wanted to kill her and circumcise their only daughter.
In her asylum petition , she and her lawyer painted a very bad , terrible and shameful, but completely FALSE picture about the Nigerian society. Anybody who reads that petition would NEVER want to come to Nigeria or associate with any Nigerian , at all, at all !
As God would judge and punish all of them , she and her daughter were deported , suddenly , one fine day in 2005 , after their final appeal failed.
Before then , she suffered a lot and battled for over five years , but failed to secure asylum.
She returned to that same "terrible Nigeria", penniless, dejected and suicidal .
All the monies ,about #750,000. which she and her husband borrowed for her travelling expense to the U.K. in 1999, went down the drain!
When she arrived , she lied to people who didn't know her true story of deportation , that she decided to return to Nigeria because she didn't like the terrible cold and how EVERYBODY was seriously suffering in the U.K.!
Lies, lies and forever lying Nigerians! Why these endless fat , terrible lies ?

Many liars like her have been deported every day , not only from the U.K., but from all over Europe, Canada and the U.S.A.
But some few liars have succeeded with their lies and been allowed to stay in the U.K. However that is tainted victory and such people can NEVER prosper . The God of Nigeria will surely repay them and they will NEVER prosper in the U.K. for lying against their fatherland.

The immigration services of Western nations are not stupid and no longer gullible.
In the past, they were easily deceived and felt pity by stories like this; but not any more.
Apart from terrible lies from Nigerians , they also hear all sorts of stories and lies from Ghanaians , Sierra Leoneans, Liberians, Kenyans , Zimbabwean, South Africans and other Africans trying to escape the hard life in their countries. A lot of lies like these also flow from the brains and lips of Asians and Arabs , fighting to remain in the U.K., AT ALL COST!
Nowadays the British Immigration officials can recognise these liars when they see them.
They have HEARD IT ALL BEFORE! Such lies are no longer news to them.
Every day in their detention centres all over the U.K., they hear worst lies than Oderinde's story, lies against Nigeria; from thousands of Nigerians seeking asylum.
So , when often they hear ridiculous lies like this whooper from so-called Mrs. Oderinde, they just nod their heads and smile . They are not moved, one inch, by such nonsensical lies.

How are we even sure her REAL NAME is Mrs Oderinde and that those children are all her real children and that some of them are not her friends or family's children and she imported them into the U.K. to collect a lot of child and housing benefits?
YOU PEOPLE MAKING NOISE HERE DON'T KNOW WHAT NIGERIANS DO OVERSEAS!
It is only people who have never travelled or lived abroad before , like most of you commentators here, that do not know what disgusting things some Nigerians are ready to do and say abroad to be granted a permission to remain in the U.K.
Some Nigerians are ready to marry dirty, illiterate white prostitutes from very poor Eastern European countries , like Poland , Bulgaria , Serbia, Slovakia, Moldovia , Macedonia or wherever , just to get an E.U. passport. Thousands have abandoned their fiancees , wives and children , just to marry foreign passport holders!
I am a patriot; very proud to be a Nigerian . Many Nigerians like me living abroad are embarrassed and very sad when we hear of people lying and struggling to remain here when they are no longer wanted here. Why can't people just go back home?
If this Mrs Oderinde is lying , I pray they deport her and her children for lying against her own families and country , Nigeria.
She and her children are not better than the 160 million people who live in Nigeria. There are no problems in Nigeria that are so terrible that is not found in every other country on earth.
Shame unto all liars! God bless Nigeria !

PEOPLE WILL TELL ALL SORTS OF LIES, LIES AND LIES against their own country , even against their own mother , just to get Stay and Work Permit , to remain in Great Britain!
Very , very sad and shameful , indeed!
I am sure this woman is a big liar. I can bet my last penny on this!
May God judge and punish her and all the other Nigerians who go abroad to rubbish their race , their country and to disgrace themselves just because they want to remain abroad!

I know this because in 1999, my neighbour and his wife planned that she should come to the U.K. with their baby daughter (3 years old then) and claim asylum by telling a terrible lie.
Their plan was that after getting her asylum by ugly lies , which will then entitle her to a good house and a good job , the husband and their five children will then join her in the U.K.
Her story was that because she caught her husband and his friend having homosexual sex, she had to go into hiding in her church compound because her husband and his family wanted to kill her and silence her from revealing his shameful homsexuality!
When they couldn't find her , they threatened to circumcise her last child , her only daughter.
After some time the Pastor she was hiding with, tried four times to rape her, so she escaped from there into the bush to hide , where she ate leaves and grubs for one whole month!
She went to the police but the corrupt Nigeria policemen demanded for sex and money from her! Then she didn't know where on earth to turn to again and there was nobody to help her.
So her father sold his house and land and advised her to run away with her daughter to far away Britain to seek asylum and refuge from her husband and his people who wanted to kill her and circumcise their only daughter.
In her asylum petition , she and her lawyer painted a very bad , terrible and shameful, but completely FALSE picture about the Nigerian society. Anybody who reads that petition would NEVER want to come to Nigeria or associate with any Nigerian , at all, at all !
As God would judge and punish all of them , she and her daughter were deported , suddenly , one fine day in 2005 , after their final appeal failed.
Before then , she suffered a lot and battled for over five years , but failed to secure asylum.
She returned to that same "terrible Nigeria", penniless, dejected and suicidal .
All the monies ,about #750,000. which she and her husband borrowed for her travelling expense to the U.K. in 1999, went down the drain!
When she arrived , she lied to people who didn't know her true story of deportation , that she decided to return to Nigeria because she didn't like the terrible cold and how EVERYBODY was seriously suffering in the U.K.!
Lies, lies and forever lying Nigerians! Why these endless fat , terrible lies ?

Many liars like her have been deported every day , not only from the U.K., but from all over Europe, Canada and the U.S.A.
But some few liars have succeeded with their lies and been allowed to stay in the U.K. However that is tainted victory and such people can NEVER prosper . The God of Nigeria will surely repay them and they will NEVER prosper in the U.K. for lying against their fatherland.

The immigration services of Western nations are not stupid and no longer gullible.
In the past, they were easily deceived and felt pity by stories like this; but not any more.
Apart from terrible lies from Nigerians , they also hear all sorts of stories and lies from Ghanaians , Sierra Leoneans, Liberians, Kenyans , Zimbabwean, South Africans and other Africans trying to escape the hard life in their countries. A lot of lies like these also flow from the brains and lips of Asians and Arabs , fighting to remain in the U.K., AT ALL COST!
Nowadays the British Immigration officials can recognise these liars when they see them.
They have HEARD IT ALL BEFORE! Such lies are no longer news to them.
Every day in their detention centres all over the U.K., they hear worst lies than Oderinde's story, lies against Nigeria; from thousands of Nigerians seeking asylum.
So , when often they hear ridiculous lies like this whooper from so-called Mrs. Oderinde, they just nod their heads and smile . They are not moved, one inch, by such nonsensical lies.

How are we even sure her REAL NAME is Mrs Oderinde and that those children are all her real children and that some of them are not her friends or family's children and she imported them into the U.K. to collect a lot of child and housing benefits?
YOU PEOPLE MAKING NOISE HERE DON'T KNOW WHAT NIGERIANS DO OVERSEAS!
It is only people who have never travelled or lived abroad before , like most of you commentators here, that do not know what disgusting things some Nigerians are ready to do and say abroad to be granted a permission to remain in the U.K.
Some Nigerians are ready to marry dirty, illiterate white prostitutes from very poor Eastern European countries , like Poland , Bulgaria , Serbia, Slovakia, Moldovia , Macedonia or wherever , just to get an E.U. passport. Thousands have abandoned their fiancees , wives and children , just to marry foreign passport holders!
I am a patriot; very proud to be a Nigerian . Many Nigerians like me living abroad are embarrassed and very sad when we hear of people lying and struggling to remain here when they are no longer wanted here. Why can't people just go back home?
If this Mrs Oderinde is lying , I pray they deport her and her children for lying against her own families and country , Nigeria.
She and her children are not better than the 160 million people who live in Nigeria. There are no problems in Nigeria that are so terrible that is not found in every other country on earth.
Shame unto all liars! God bless Nigeria !