BY FRONTLINE REPORTERS

Nigerians have expressed outrage over the revelation by former Cross River State Governor and 2027 presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, that some politicians allegedly resort to human sacrifice in their desperate quest for political power.

Duke made the allegation during an interaction with the media aired on The Morning Show programme of Arise News Television. He cited an incident he said occurred during his tenure as governor, where body parts and human skulls were allegedly discovered in the home of a local government chairman.

According to Duke, the desperation for political power had turned politics into a “do-or-die affair”, warning that the fundamentals of democracy were being eroded because politics was increasingly treated as an occupation rather than a vocation.

He said: “A large number of people today have no business being in politics. When you have a society where people are desperate for power and do all sorts of things, even using human sacrifice, you ask yourself, how low are we going to go to get it right?

“The only thing that can stem that is if we, the players, know that there are dire consequences for doing this. You cannot aspire to lead the people when you yourself have a character that is abominable.

“While I was governor, a case was brought up where we found body parts, skulls, all sorts of things in the house of a local government chairman because he had to do some sacrifice. Now, this happens multiple times across the country. These are things we know but we never say.”

Reacting to the allegation, elder statesmen, political leaders, community leaders, academics, activists and other concerned Nigerians described the claim as disturbing and deserving of serious investigation, particularly against the backdrop of Nigeria’s history of electoral violence.

They warned that no political office was worth the blood of Nigerians and urged security and law-enforcement agencies to investigate any credible evidence of ritual killings linked to political ambition.

Elections are about winning confidence, not eliminating opponents — Prof Ojo

Political scientist at the University of Ilorin and former Chief of Staff to the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi, Prof. Gbade Ojo, described the allegation as “extremely disturbing”, saying it should not be dismissed as mere political rhetoric.

He said whether or not every such allegation could be substantiated, persistent reports of ritual killings allegedly linked to political ambitions pointed to a dangerous combination of desperation, criminality and superstition.

“Elections are fundamentally about winning the confidence of the people, not eliminating opponents or seeking supernatural assistance through human sacrifice,” Ojo said.

He warned that the reported desperation ahead of the 2027 elections should be taken seriously, urging security agencies to strengthen intelligence gathering, surveillance and investigations into suspicious killings.

Ojo also called on traditional rulers, religious leaders, community leaders and civil society organisations to intensify public enlightenment against beliefs that human sacrifice or ritual practices could guarantee electoral victory.

He added that credible elections remained the strongest antidote to political desperation, arguing that when politicians knew victory depended on the votes of the people rather than violence, intimidation or occult practices, the incentive for such desperation would diminish.

Human sacrifice for political power deeply troubling — Adewale

Former Ondo State chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Hon. Stephen Adewale, said Duke’s allegation was deeply troubling and should be investigated rather than dismissed as political rhetoric.

“If he possesses credible evidence that politicians have engaged in human sacrifice, he should present it to the appropriate security agencies because human sacrifice is murder, regardless of the political, cultural or spiritual language used to disguise it,” he said.

Adewale attributed political desperation partly to the enormous wealth, influence and perceived immunity associated with public office.

He said the winner-takes-all nature of Nigerian politics, weak institutions and persistent electoral impunity could encourage desperate aspirants to believe that power must be acquired at any cost.

Referring to killings associated with the recent Osun governorship election, he urged security agencies to investigate every politically connected death and prosecute both perpetrators and sponsors.

Nigerians should expose politicians involved in rituals — Owie

Former Senate Chief Whip and chieftain of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sir Rowland Owie, said although he had heard reports of such practices, he had never personally witnessed them.

“I have not witnessed anyone perform such rituals, but I am convinced that anyone who does so in order to gain political office will come to a bad end,” he said.

Owie argued that the secretive nature of ritual practices made them difficult to combat, adding that the electorate had an important role to play in exposing politicians suspected of engaging in them.

Reprehensible act demands full legal justice — Ambakederimo

Convener of the South South Reawakening Group, Joseph Ambakederimo, described human sacrifice for political power as “a reprehensible act” that must attract the full force of the law.

“How anyone could believe in, let alone engage in such a fetish act in today’s world is difficult to imagine,” he said.

Ambakederimo said the lure of political power had driven some Nigerians to dangerous extremes, urging that anyone found culpable should be dealt with firmly within the law.

2027 elections must not be sacrificed to political desperation — Prof Okaba

A university don and immediate past President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Prof. Benjamin Okaba, said the alleged resort to human sacrifice for political power reflected a profound moral collapse.

He blamed the trend on the do-or-die mentality and winner-takes-all character of Nigerian politics, which, he said, could devalue human life and make violence appear to some as a shortcut to power.

Okaba called for stronger enforcement by INEC and security agencies, swift prosecution of electoral offences, voter education against thuggery and greater condemnation of occult practices by religious leaders and the media.

“No political prize is worth a single human life,” he said, warning that Nigeria’s democratic integrity was at stake.

Nigeria’s politics drifting from contest to bloodshed — Embiowei

For Ebitumitula Embiowei, an evangelist and House of Assembly candidate in Bayelsa State, Nigerian politics had shifted from a contest of ideas and competence to one increasingly dominated by wealth, intimidation and coercion.

He said the development had created a volatile political environment in which ordinary citizens often bore the brunt of election-related violence.

Embiowei urged Nigerians to reject candidates who rely on fear, violence or hired thugs, insisting that elections should be won on the strength of candidates’ records, competence and vision.

ISSJHR demands investigation

The Chancellor of the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights (ISSJHR), Dr Jackson Omenazu, called for an immediate investigation by security and law-enforcement authorities into Duke’s allegation.

He identified political desperation, the excessive value attached to public office, weak accountability and a culture of impunity as possible factors behind politically motivated violence.

Omenazu called for stronger intelligence gathering, improved protection for witnesses and whistle-blowers, closer monitoring of political financing and swift prosecution of electoral-violence cases.

“Political power must be pursued through the ballot, never through the blood of the Nigerian people. No election is worth a human life,” he said.

Political desperation fueled by corruption — Aghomi

Media consultant and Coordinator of Journalists for Just Development of the Niger Delta, Austin Aghomi, said Nigeria’s political history had been marred by election-related violence, citing the 1965 Ondo election crisis, the 1983 clashes during the Second Republic and the 2019 Abonnema killings.

He, however, cautioned Duke against making sweeping allegations without evidence.

“If he knows individuals involved in ritual killings for political purposes, he should name them or provide proof,” Aghomi said.

He argued that political desperation was partly driven by deep-seated corruption and the perception of public office as one of Nigeria’s most lucrative ventures.

Ritual does not determine election winners — Igbo Women Assembly

The National President of the Igbo Women Assembly (IWA), Lolo Nneka Chimezie, warned that the desperation of politicians to win elections at all costs could worsen ritual killings and political violence ahead of 2027.

She expressed particular concern over politicians allegedly arming youths and using them to intimidate opponents during elections, only to abandon them after achieving their political objectives.

“Two desperate politicians may engage in the same rituals, but only one person can emerge winner. That alone should tell us that ritual does not determine who wins an election,” she said.

Chimezie urged politicians to seek the confidence of voters and allow Nigerians to freely determine who should govern them.

Some politicians may go that far, but not all — Abia elders

Chairman of the Abia State Elders Consultative Forum, Archbishop Professor Princewill Ariwodo, cautioned against generalising the allegation.

“Some could get to that extent, but not everyone,” he said, adding that although ritual killings remained a serious problem in Nigeria, he could not conclude that politicians generally engaged in such practices without evidence of prosecutions.

Ariwodo warned that anyone who shed innocent blood in pursuit of political power would ultimately have to account for such actions.

Such desperation ends in vanity — Bakkita Bello

Former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly and Ondo State Secretary of Afenifere, Rt. Hon. Bakkita Bello, described human sacrifice as “abnormal, despicable, cruel, inhuman and condemnable”.

He said the practice, wherever it occurred, was against the law and fundamental principles of humanity and morality.

Bello argued that political power was temporary and warned that those who resorted to desperate measures to acquire or retain it would ultimately discover that such efforts ended in vanity.

Politicians who engage in such practices are living in the Stone Age — Ekujumi

Lagos-based human rights activist, Comrade Nelson Ekujumi, condemned the alleged practice as horrendous and criminal.

He said politicians who believed human sacrifice could help them win elections were operating from an outdated and dangerous mindset.

“The only way to discourage such a despicable act is to ensure that whoever goes on that path is made to face the full wrath of the law accordingly,” Ekujumi said.