It’s as if the gods are angry with our nation. As if our woes are not enough. Now, we have officially declared publicly that we have serial killers in our midst and their target is women. At least the story from Port Harcourt confirms this. When the story broke, my stomach turned to water because as an avid watcher of the crime and investigation channel on international networks and a certificated guidance and counselling personae, I can minimally map out the character of serial killers. White handkerchief, strangulation, same pattern, same setting in hotels, a classic serial killer scenario and a man or woman who would kill again.
When serial killers are interrogated all over the world, they say they leave a mark, a chain, anything for identification. For them it’s a trophy, a sign to gain them notoriety and respect. They are also taunting security operatives and laughing at futile attempts to catch them. They savour the buzz, enjoy television analysis and search for the next victim to continue their terrible activities. They enjoy the fear which gives them a false sense of power.
The psychology of the serial killer is mind numbing. They live among us and seem normal until they don the killer hat and become a set of different people. They are extremely smart, highly deceitful, very calculative and highly manipulative
In addition to all of this, they have entered that place of foreboding where killing has become a past time and an addiction, so they have the appetite for blood. Once they kill one person and get away with it, they then suffer withdrawal symptoms and get their next high only when they kill again.
The psychology of the serial killer is mind numbing. They live among us and seem normal until they don the killer hat and become a set of different people. They are extremely smart, highly deceitful, very calculative and highly manipulative. They are also essentially cowards who also have multiple mental illnesses and have lost their sense of reality. Their joy is in seeing other people suffer, vulnerable people, who they can dominate, begging for their lives. They also prey on persons who they feel have severed links with their families as well as young persons who are innocent and naïve.
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For the men, they seek out women of easy virtue or a woman who is out on the town. The women prey on men they have seduced and those seeking for fun. To stay safe, everyone has to be one step ahead of them.
I watched keenly but with much sadness the many interviews given by Gracious, the now arrested serial killer of Port Harcourt fame. He was a bundle of cowardice, shamelessness and power. He gave the salacious details of his many murders, then proceeded to eat and then burst into tears saying he does not know why he does it.
Everything is very matter of fact, speaking as if he killed a fly. Most serial killers have no empathy and even if one of the girls he had killed was his sister, he would still deliver his story in this way.
There is a lot to do with this Gracious. Psychologists and psychiatrists can profile him for the rest of us. What broke in his childhood? Did his mother love him? How did he become an armed robber? How many people had he killed as an armed robber? Now he has built an appetite and what can be more empowering for people of his ilk than sex and murder. He wants to dominate the women, keep the police busy, dominate the media and put fear in the community.
Before he was caught, these things gave him a sense of power. Let us look at his money for sex scheme. Has he ever been truly loved by a woman, has he truly ever loved a woman? Has he always bought sex? He can afford it so he pays and treats the women like dirt. And in this new escapade, he can possess them, own them and even kill them. How many of the deceased women may have said to him, give me my gift, if not that you have some decent cash, who will sleep with a man like you? Which ones, just having fun, talked down on him? They may not have even thought he was violent, but even armed robbers have their girls.
Most serial killers will tell you their first victim was an accident, a result of rage. After that they now provoke their subsequent victims so they can settle their minds with “but they made me angry and afterwards, I did not know what happened”. Many of them see it as a game, fun, their inability to have empathy prevents them from understanding that people are being hurt. For them, this is their own playground.
Parents must work their way through understanding their children. They must provide pathways for discussion. Not all serial killers are from poor homes. Quite a number are from wealthy homes and do it for fun and sometimes they end up killing their parents. Every parent with a child that has anxiety, mental health illnesses or just pure rage must seek professional help. Substance abuse helps serial killers to dumb down the extent of their depravity. Never compare your children with other children, do not build a toxic home, don’t keep kids around a violent dad or mum, don’t attack your wife in front of your children, don’t reduce your husband in front of your children.
Read also: How I killed 7 women in Port Harcourt, Lagos, Owerri- Serial killer confesses
Don’t sow the seeds of hate of either a brother, a section of the society, a certain religion or even a certain demographic. More than anything else, no matter how rich you are, do not expose your children to too much money, let them learn the values of hard work. When there is much money, boredom sets in and kids can then do anything just for the thrill of it. Treat people with respect in front of your kids, even if the person is your domestic. Too much television and internet can teach new and dangerous things.
Women must now be more cautious; study the signs and character of a man they are in love with or having fun with. And run if they have to. Too many broken men out there. Be careful.
I congratulate the women’s group in Port Harcourt who marched to draw attention, I congratulate the Nigerian police force in Port Harcourt for doing the needful. Finally, let us all be more cautious in our dealings with strange persons in our neighbourhood and even with friends. As Dandaura, Rivers state commissioner of police says, there are also elements of cultism involved.
In the search for serial killers, the culprit may also join the search and be more vociferous in his anger, may even carry placards and shout louder than all of us. Serial killers are like that, they are clever. He/she may even be your neighbour. Enough said.
Eugenia Abu is a broadcaster, writer, trainer, brand and multimedia strategy expert and media consultant.
Contact: abu_eugenia@yahoo.com
