A suspected ritualist, Saheed Babalola, has been arrested by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force for allegedly exhuming a corpse and severing its head and wrist in Feesu community, near Iwo, Osun State.
The deceased, an 18-year-old girl who lived in the same compound as Babalola, reportedly died under suspicious circumstances on Sunday and was buried later that day within the premises where she lived.
Babalola was said to have joined other mourners in burying the deceased.
However, in the early hours of Monday, he allegedly returned to the burial site with two accomplices, whose identities had yet to be ascertained, exhumed the corpse and severed its head and wrist.
Babalola was reportedly caught in the act after residents of the neighbourhood, alerted by strange sounds coming from the burial site, went to investigate. His alleged accomplices, however, fled the scene.
A resident of Feesu, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted, told our correspondent in a telephone interview on Wednesday that residents apprehended Babalola and handed him over to the police.
He said, “Three people came to perpetrate the act, but we were able to apprehend one of them, and he was handed over to the police.”
Confirming the incident in a telephone interview on Wednesday, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Osun State Police Command, Abiodun Ojelabi, said Babalola was cooperating with investigators.
Ojelabi said the suspect and the deceased lived at Olomo Compound, Feesu, Iwo.
He said, “Police officers went to the scene, and the suspect, Saheed Babalola, was arrested. The incident occurred on October 12. The deceased was buried on the 11th. Reports said that the neighbours heard a strange noise, and when they went out, they met Saheed where they had buried the deceased.
“He was arrested by the police in Iwo Division, but he has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department. The State CID went further with the investigation and discovered where he kept the head and the wrist of the victim.
“We were able to recover the head and the hand. Investigation is still ongoing. Both the suspect and the deceased lived at the same address in Olomo Compound, Feesu, in Iwo,” the PPRO said.
The incident comes amid similar reports of alleged ritual-related crimes in the region.
PUNCH Metro had earlier reported that the Kwara State Police Command arrested four men in connection with two separate incidents involving the alleged removal of human heads from exhumed corpses and the possession of suspected human hands reportedly intended for money-making rituals.
The Commissioner of Police in Kwara State, Ojo Adekimi, disclosed the arrests while briefing journalists at the command headquarters in Ilorin, where he provided details of the investigations into the two cases.