The Oyo State Police Command has apprehended two individuals suspected of exhuming corpses and selling body parts to ritualists, shedding light on a disturbing trade in human remains.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso, announced the arrests in a statement issued on Friday in Ibadan. He revealed that the operation was conducted after detectives at the Iyaganku Divisional Police Headquarters received vital intelligence.
“During the search, a female human torso and other dismembered human remains, including severed limbs and dried bones, which were stored in bags and a paint bucket, were recovered,” Osifeso said.
One of the suspects, during his confession, admitted to exhuming a corpse from a cemetery in Awa-Ijebu, located in the Ijebu North Local Government Area of Ogun State, and selling the remains to ritualists.
Following his confession, detectives traced and apprehended a second suspect, a man in his seventies, who was allegedly involved in purchasing human body parts.
“He also admitted to his involvement in the illicit trade in human body parts,” Osifeso added.
The case has been transferred to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department for further inquiry, as the police step up efforts to apprehend other individuals connected to the alarming operation.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Johnson Ademola, has issued a firm warning to cemetery managers, urging them to enhance security measures in light of increasing incidents of corpse exhumation.
Ademola also advised transport operators to remain vigilant and thoroughly inspect passengers’ luggage to avoid inadvertently facilitating such criminal activities.