Police arrest four over missing human heads, suspected ritual hands in Kwara

The police in Kwara State have arrested four men in connection with two separate incidents involving the alleged removal of human heads from graves and possession of suspected human hands for alleged money-making rituals.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Adekimi Ojo, disclosed this while briefing journalists at the command headquarters in Ilorin.

In the first incident, two suspects, Abu Jimoh and Ayo Jimoh, were arrested over the alleged exhumation of graves and removal of heads from buried bodies at a cemetery in Omupo, Kwara State.

Mr Ojo said the investigation began in May 2026 after residents visiting the cemetery to bury a deceased person discovered that some graves had been disturbed and the heads of the bodies buried there were missing.

He said police operatives arrested the two suspects at about 5 a.m. on 8 October while they were allegedly digging graves at the cemetery.

According to the commissioner, the suspects reportedly confessed to the crime during interrogation and identified a herbalist, Mukaila Bello, as the alleged buyer of the missing human heads.

Police said investigations were ongoing and that they would arraign the suspects after the investigation concluded. The information provided did not establish whether police had arrested Mr Bello.

In a separate incident, police arrested two other men, Kamalden Lukmon and AbdulGaniyu Ibrahim, after recovering two suspected human hands during an operation along Bakase Road in Alapa, Kwara State.

The arrests were made around 4 p.m. on 8 October.

Mr Ojo said preliminary interrogation indicated that the suspects intended to use the body parts for money-making rituals.

“During preliminary interrogation, the suspects stated that they intended to use the body parts for money-making rituals,” he said.

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The suspects reportedly told investigators that a vigilante member, identified as Abdulrauf Apata, had handed the suspected human hands to them.

The commissioner said the allegation against Mr Apata was being investigated to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine whether other people were involved.

Mr Lukmon and Mr Ibrahim were being held at the command’s Violent Crimes Response Unit as investigators worked to establish the origin of the body parts and identify any possible victim.

The police urged residents to provide credible information to security agencies to support investigations and help prevent crime.