Trends and patterns of fatalities resulting from cult societies and belief in witchcraft in Nigeria (2006-2014)
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22 juillet 2021
- doi: 10.4000/books.ifra.1928
- isbn: 9789054481492
- eisbn: 9791092312553
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ , info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
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violence conflicts crime crime statistics quantitative data analysis Geography Political Science SOC051000 JFFESujets proches
Sorcery Black art (Witchcraft) Cultus CultCiter ce document
Akinpelu Babajide Adedotun, « Trends and patterns of fatalities resulting from cult societies and belief in witchcraft in Nigeria (2006-2014) », Institut français de recherche en Afrique, ID : 10.4000/books.ifra.1928
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As a result of the voracious appetite and interest of the average Nigerian in anything metaphysical, the media tend to over-sensationalize the issues of witchcraft and cult societies. Religious bodies also tend to overemphasize sorcery as a major source of misfortune and poverty, creating fear in the hearts of the common man. Relying on the Nigeria Watch database data recorded since 1 June 2006, however, this study reveals that witchcraft accounted for only 661 violent deaths in the last eight years, or 1% of the total number of fatalities reported during the period under review. Moreover, most deaths attributed to sorcery occurred in the southern part of the country. The same pattern applies to cult societies, thereby illustrating a difference between the South and the North. In the North, eight states did not experience any ritual killings in the last eight years. Though the belief that politics is related to cult societies is strong, the number of violent incidences leading to deaths is low. Therefore, evidence of such a relationship remains vague and unproven.