Police arrest three ‘ritualists’ found with suspected human body parts in Osun

The Osun police command says its operatives have arrested three suspected ritualists for allegedly exhuming human remains from a cemetery in Ile-Ogbo, Iwo LGA.

In a statement on Monday, Abiodun Ojelabi, police spokesperson in Osun, said the suspects were arrested following credible intelligence received on December 3 that some persons were in possession of human parts in Ile-Ogbo, near Iwo.

Ojelabi said operatives raided the area and apprehended the suspects inside a dilapidated building.

He added that police recovered plastic containers with human skin, a white burial gown, two dried bones suspected to be human, and 21 teeth believed to be human.

Other items recovered are four horns wrapped in red cloth, three nylon bags containing suspected human hair, a small knife, a substance suspected to be Indian hemp, and N127,000 cash.

The police spokesperson said the suspects confessed to the crime and admitted that they exhumed the remains from a grave at a Muslim cemetery in the Gaa-Fulani area of Ile-Ogbo, with the intention of using them for money-making rituals.

He added that investigations showed the suspects belonged to a syndicate that specialises in exhuming corpses from cemeteries for criminal purposes.

Ojelabi added that in a separate operation, operatives of the Ikire area command in Irewole LGA arrested a suspect on December 16 for being in possession of an unlicensed single-barrel gun and three live cartridges.

He said the suspect, who hails from the Olorunsogo community in the Panada area of Ikire, failed to give a satisfactory explanation for the firearm, adding that a search of his residence led to the recovery of another single-barrel gun.

Ojelabi said all the suspects would be charged to court after investigations are concluded.

He added that Ibrahim Gotan, commissioner of police in Osun, has directed divisional police officers across the state to intensify intelligence-led raids of identified black spots.