CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Security concerns are taken seriously all across the world. It is acknowledged as one of the most fundamental tasks of a state. Security has historically been a component of human life and sustenance, and it can be described as freedom from threats or violence that could result in the loss of lives or property. In other words, security refers to a scenario in which citizens are safeguarded against threats to their lives and livelihoods, such as bodily harm, disease, unemployment, and human rights violations, regardless of where they are in a sovereign nation. A country cannot develop unless it first works for human security (Otto & Ikpere 2013). Thus, in international relations, the absence of security in a state gives rise to notions such as failed states, failing states, and collapsed states. It might be claimed that an insecure state loses legitimacy in the eyes of its citizens and foreign community.
Surprisingly, Nigeria, usually recognized as Africa's "giant," has endured unparalleled levels of insecurity as a result of bandit organizations, kidnappers, assassins, seccessionist groups, armed robbery attacks, abduction, and, more recently, the rise of ritual killers. A ritual is a series of patterns or procedures and directions for carrying out religious deeds or rituals (Shujaa 2009). He went on to say that ritual killings are a violent and extreme kind of criminal homicide in which the slayers remove crucial organs from the victim for use in "holy" rites involving human sacrifice. This entails giving up something valuable in exchange for something more valuable (Ayegboyin 2009:). Human sacrifice is a blood sacrifice that involves the killing of a living creature as a ritual offering to a god or spirit, usually in the hope of receiving a return in the form of good fortune, whether generalized or as the fulfillment of a specific prayer (La Fontaine 2011). The skull, genitals, breasts, eyeballs, intestine, arms, and legs, as well as an excavated dead body or its dismembered parts, are some of the objects of sacrifice for this ceremony. Ritual sacrifice is a "faith method" for acquiring money, fortune, success, renown, favor, grandeur, power, and protection from perils.
Statement of the problem
In Nigeria, the occurrence of ritual killings has created a sense of insecurity and distrust among individuals. A sense of insecurity pervades a setting where ritual killings occur on a regular basis. Hundreds of Nigerians have died as a result of ritual killers, sometimes known as "Head Hunters," according to Nwakanma and Abu (2020). The ritual killers roam around looking for human parts such as heads, breasts, tongues, and sex organs, which are needed by witch doctors, juju priests, traditional medicine men and women, and/or occultists for dubious sacrifices or the manufacture of various magical sections (Igwe, 2010). In today's Nigeria, ritual killing has taken on a whole new meaning. The scene has been dubbed the "Reign of the Ritualists" by many publications (Elesho 2004). Ritual killings, according to Salisbury (2012), are seen as acts of spiritual fortification by those who engage in them. The utilization of human body parts for therapeutic purposes, as well as the idea that human body parts hold supernatural qualities that provide prosperity and protection, are all motivations for these acts. Many young people still believe, according to Igwe (2010), that charms and ritual offerings can spiritually strengthen them, improve their fortunes in business and during elections, or protect them from damage, disease, poverty, accident, death, or destruction. These beliefs have been linked to some youngsters engaging in ritual murders in order to placate deities, ask for supernatural favors, ward off misfortune, or produce magical wealth, putting their moral growth at risk.