The Kwara State Police Command has arrested four men in connection with two separate cases involving alleged grave desecration and the possession of suspected human body parts linked to claims of money-making rituals.
The Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, disclosed the arrests on Tuesday while briefing journalists at the command headquarters in Ilorin. He said investigations were ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding both incidents and determine the roles of the suspects and other individuals mentioned in the cases.
In the first case, two men identified as Abu Jimoh and Ayo Jimoh were arrested over the alleged exhumation of graves and removal of human heads from buried bodies at a cemetery in Omupo, Kwara State.
The incident reportedly came to light in May 2026 when residents visited the cemetery to bury a deceased person and discovered that some graves had been disturbed and the heads of bodies buried there were missing.
According to the police, an intelligence-led investigation subsequently led to the arrest of the two suspects at about 5am on October 8, 2026. They were allegedly caught digging graves within the cemetery.
The police said the suspects reportedly identified a herbalist, Mukaila Bello, as the alleged buyer of the missing human heads during interrogation. The allegation against Bello remains subject to investigation, and the police said inquiries into the case were continuing.
A second operation led to the arrest of Kamalden Lukmon and AbdulGaniyu Ibrahim along Bakase Road in Alapa, Kwara State, at about 4pm on October 8.
Police said officers recovered two suspected human hands during the operation. Preliminary interrogation reportedly indicated that the two men intended to use the body parts for money-making rituals.
The suspects allegedly told investigators that a vigilante member identified as Abdulraf Apata had handed the suspected human hands over to them. Police said the allegation against Apata was also being investigated.
Lukmon and Ibrahim were being held at the command’s Violent Crimes Response Unit while investigators worked to establish the identity of the possible victim and determine how the body parts were obtained.
The two cases have prompted investigations into the alleged removal and handling of human remains, with police seeking to establish whether additional individuals were involved.
The command said the suspects in the cemetery case would be arraigned after the investigation was concluded. The allegations against all the individuals named in the cases have yet to be determined by a court.
The police have not provided further details about the possible victim linked to the suspected human hands or disclosed whether additional arrests have been made.
Deborah
