The Police Command in Oyo State says it has arrested 11 suspects in possession of nine dry human skulls, one fresh human head, intestines and other vital body parts.
SP Adewae Osifeso, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, disclosed this on Thursday in Ibadan while briefing journalists.
Osifeso who disclosed that the suspects were arrested in their hideout at Orita-Aperin area of Ibadan, added that 16 others were arrested in connection to an alleged kidnapping and armed robbery.
He explained that discreet intelligence gathering carried out on Feb. 22 by a police monitoring unit uncovered the criminal activities of the suspects.
He said that the suspects specialised in selling human skulls and other organs for ritual purposes.
The PPRO said the 11 members of the criminal gang had all confessed to the crime upon interrogation.
He informed the press that the suspects confessed that the dry human skulls were harvested from corpses at burial grounds and that the fresh human head and other body organs were harvested from persons after being killed by their kingpin, simply identified as Amuludun who is now at large.
Osifeso said an investigation was now in progress to arrest the fleeing suspects, adding that further developments would be communicated to the public later.
Meanwhile one of the suspects and the wife of the principal suspect now at large, said she knew her husband as an Islamic cleric and was surprised when the human skulls were found in his office.
She said she went to her husband’s office to collect money for foodstuffs when the police came and searched the office where the skulls were found.
The command’s spokesman also said the seven suspected armed robbers who invaded Felele community, Ibadan with guns and some other dangerous weapons were arrested.
Osifeso said the victims raised an alarm when the armed robbers were fleeing, adding that the alarm attracted a police monitoring unit that arrested the suspects.