The Nigerian Police Force has established a connection between the growing trend of hookup culture and the alarming cases of missing young women and ritual killings in the country.

Omolola Odutola, the Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Command, disclosed this during her appearance on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Wednesday.

Speaking on the topic, “Hookup Culture: Impact on Youth Values and Relationships,” she revealed that women aged 20 to 32 are the most vulnerable to these incidents.

“This particular menace is very serious, and I would like a lot of young people to understand the danger in the hookup culture. Today, we have numerous reports of missing persons. By the time we start an investigation, not less than 10 young girls and ladies go missing daily.

“In-depth investigations also reveal that those cases are not by accidents. Most of them are connected to hookup channels and apps. They fall victim to strangers who casually invite them to unknown places, and eventually fall victim to being used for ritual purposes,” Odutola stated.

She further emphasised that the recent surge in missing girls and ritual killings in Ogun State is not a new phenomenon. However, she credited the Ogun State Commissioner of Police for taking significant steps to address the situation.

“These incidents stem from the misguided perspective of young persons who believe that ritual killings could make them wealthy. Unscrupulous individuals deceive young people into obtaining human skulls or body parts, which they claim are used to create concoctions for wealth,” she said.

To counter this trend, Odutola highlighted the importance of advocacy and sensitisation to debunk the myths surrounding ritual killings. “We are enlightening young persons to help them understand that engaging in ritual killings does not in any way make them rich.”

She also noted the police command’s collaboration with the State Women Affairs Commission to tackle the issue.

“The Ogun State government, particularly the Women Affairs Commission, works closely with the police by providing counselling sessions. Apart from that, whenever we have cases such as this—if the girls escape the rituals—we offer support to help them overcome mental health distress and anxiety they might have experienced,” Odutola explained.

She attributed the prevalence of hookup culture to financial pressures and the so-called “get-rich syndrome.”

“The hookup culture is prevalent among young girls between the ages of 20 to about 32 years. They get involved in this menace because they feel they don’t get enough from their parents,” she added.