Osun State Police Command, Nigeria, announced on Wednesday the arrest of seven individuals, including two mortuary attendants, for allegedly selling human remains and water used to bathe corpses.
Acting Police Public Relations Officer Emmanuel Giwa-Alade identified the suspects as Johnson Daniel, 43, and Adetunji Okunade, 42, both mortuary attendants, along with Olaniyan Azeez, Balogun Temitope, Oladapo Hammed, Kazeem Rasaq, and Asaka Rauf.
The arrests followed a tip-off from a concerned citizen about Daniel, an attendant at a mortuary in Ipetu-Ijesa, selling corpse remains to native doctors.
“Daniel confessed to conspiring with Okunade to sell water used in bathing corpses to interested native doctors,” Giwa-Alade stated. “The suspects used these remains for various ritual purposes.”
Police searches of the suspects’ residences yielded fragments suspected to be human skull parts, as well as a female undergarment and a notebook containing ritual instructions.
In a separate incident, authorities arrested three individuals for promoting the Yoruba Nation separatist movement. Oluwafemi Fagbuyi was apprehended at Obada Market in Ikire while addressing a crowd, allegedly urging them to “denounce their allegiance to Nigeria as a nation.”
Two women, Joy Faseyiku, 63, and Alabede Janet, 64, were subsequently arrested in connection with this case in Osogbo and Ikire, respectively.
Giwa-Alade confirmed that investigations have concluded, and all suspects have been charged accordingly in Federal High Court.
These arrests highlight ongoing challenges with ritual practices involving human remains and separatist movements in parts of Nigeria.
Credit: punchng.com
