A Nigerian man from Abia state, Marshall Nwankwo, has been arrested in connection with the murder of a hunchbacked man. He, along with his accomplice Emeka Okoye, who is currently on the run, murdered their victim for the sole purpose of using parts of his body for money-making rituals. Both men claimed to be pastors.
Their victim's decomposing body was later exhumed from where he was buried after the murderous 'pastors' had taken the parts they needed for their rituals. Ritual killings are not uncommon in Nigeria and it is widely
believed that human parts and organs such as tongues, genitals and female
breasts can bring wealth when used in money-making rituals. Such ritual
killings are also depicted in many of the movies made in Nollywood, Nigeria's
very prolific movie industry; in fact, the first official Nollywood movie,
Living In Bondage, was based on this premise. Many Nigerians have been arrested
for buying, selling and/or being in possession of human parts or organs. The
'Otokoto' saga, in which a man was caught with the freshly decapitated head of
11-year-old Ikechukwu Okoronkwo is perhaps the most celebrated ritual killing
case in Nigeria. Seven men were later sentenced to death for the gruesome
murder, including the mastermind, Vincent Duru (aka Otokoto).
Those who are hunchbacked (kyphosis), as well as albinos, are targets of ritual killers who believe that body parts of such
people are an invaluable resource when used in moneymaking rituals. They are no different (except for the murder part) than those who go to church and are told to tithe, or "sow a seed of faith" in order to reap a hundredfold return.
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