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The general objective of this paper was to investigate the relevance and efficiency of Yoruba gods in the administration of punishment and justices on crime commitment. Two Yoruba gods (Sango and Ogun) were principally chosen. Six hundred (600) participants were conveniently sampled from three localities from three geo-political states in the western part of Nigeria. Univariate and bivariate analyses were used in the description of the samples and frequency distribution tables were employed in the presentation of the data. The results show that Yoruba natives still fear and respect these gods. The gods are still relevant and efficient in the administration of punishment on crime commission. The Yoruba natives show preference for the non-conventional punishments of these gods to modern criminal justice systems. Finally, the paper recommends the opinion survey polls on the inclusion of the invocations of these gods in the criminal justice systems of Nigeria and the likely implementations of the invocations in official swearing in ceremony for political and public office holders and the administration of the invocations in Nigerian courts of law.

Festivals and ceremonies are part and parcel of African culture, usually in all its pump, merriment and pageantry. However, with the increasing wave of criminal activities in Nigeria especially in Edo state, festivals and ceremonies are being redefined and conceptualized in practice. Only recently a new festival ‘Festival of Curses’ was brought to the fore in combating crime in Edo state. The study therefore seeks to explain the festival as a traditional mechanism in crime control, the nature of the festival, the factors that led to its emergence in the 21st century, the level of acceptance and its impact in reducing criminal activities in the State. The study employed principally secondary literature and in-depth interviews among a cross section of the Bini. Major findings revealed that immediately after the festival of curses, a lot of criminals in the state besieged the Bini Monarch’s Palace to confess their atrocities; and pleaded for forgiveness. There was an overwhelming acceptance of the festival irrespective of the people’s religious affiliations to Christianity and Islam as a result of the potency and sudden drop in crime during the period. The study concludes that the festival should be taken as a mechanism of crime control and policing in Nigeria.

This paper is an ethnological and anthropological study of Zangbeto among the Ogu (Egun) people of Badagry, in Nigeria. The study utilized survey design approach with emphasis on qualitative method: interview, focus group discussion and key informant investigation. Purposive and convenience sampling procedures under non –probability sampling were used in selecting the study area and respondents who participated in the study (n=40). The data gathered from the field of study were analyzed, using content analysis method. The findings in the study revealed that Zangbeto still remains an effective social machinery of policing and securing the lives and properties in the Badagry community. It also played a prominent role in making peace among the feuding parties in the community and still remains an avenue of social entertainment and cultural display. The study called for the legal backing of Zangbeto as a traditional way of policing and security the lives and properties in this community and the continuous researches of African societies to uncover ways through which African societies can help themselves where westernization has failed them.

The general objective of this paper was to investigate the relevance and efficiency of Yoruba gods in the administration of punishment and justices on crime commitment. Two Yoruba gods (Sango and Ogun) were principally chosen. Six hundred (600) participants were conveniently sampled from three localities from three geo-political states in the western part of Nigeria. Univariate and bivariate analyses were used in the description of the samples and frequency distribution tables were employed in the presentation of the data. The results show that Yoruba natives still fear and respect these gods. The gods are still relevant and efficient in the administration of punishment on crime commission. The Yoruba natives show preference for the non-conventional punishments of these gods to modern criminal justice systems. Finally, the paper recommends the opinion survey polls on the inclusion of the invocations of these gods in the criminal justice systems of Nigeria and the likely implementations of the invocations in official swearing in ceremony for political and public office holders and the administration of the invocations in Nigerian courts of law.

Festivals and ceremonies are part and parcel of African culture, usually in all its pump, merriment and pageantry. However, with the increasing wave of criminal activities in Nigeria especially in Edo state, festivals and ceremonies are being redefined and conceptualized in practice. Only recently a new festival ‘Festival of Curses’ was brought to the fore in combating crime in Edo state. The study therefore seeks to explain the festival as a traditional mechanism in crime control, the nature of the festival, the factors that led to its emergence in the 21st century, the level of acceptance and its impact in reducing criminal activities in the State. The study employed principally secondary literature and in-depth interviews among a cross section of the Bini. Major findings revealed that immediately after the festival of curses, a lot of criminals in the state besieged the Bini Monarch’s Palace to confess their atrocities; and pleaded for forgiveness. There was an overwhelming acceptance of the festival irrespective of the people’s religious affiliations to Christianity and Islam as a result of the potency and sudden drop in crime during the period. The study concludes that the festival should be taken as a mechanism of crime control and policing in Nigeria.