Two suspects, Mustapha Bello and Damilare Oladele, have confessed to exhuming human heads from graves in Ibadan, Oyo State, for a payment of N5,000 per head.
The two men were apprehended by the Amotekun Corps after a local night guard caught them with a human head in the Amuloko area of Ibadan.
According to reports, the incident occurred in the early hours of Monday when a night guard noticed Bello carrying a suspicious bag.
When confronted, Bello resisted, allowing Oladele to flee. However, Bello was overpowered and handed over to Amotekun officers for further investigation.
After a video of Bello’s arrest circulated online, a law enforcement agent recognized Oladele as Bello’s close associate.
Later that evening, Oladele was confronted by a crowd and, after being beaten, admitted to being involved in the illegal activity. He was then also turned over to Amotekun.
During interrogation, 32-year-old Bello, a carpenter, revealed that a man named Saheed had introduced him to the gruesome business.
Bello explained that Saheed, a security guard, had persuaded him to help exhume corpses when he was in financial need. Bello described how Saheed led him to a grave at around 1 a.m. in the Ita Ege area, where they dug up a body and removed its head. Bello said that Saheed sold the heads, giving him N5,000 as his share.
Oladele, a 25-year-old barber, confessed to working with Bello since February. He claimed his role was to act as a lookout while Bello exhumed the graves. Oladele admitted that Bello had introduced him to the operation, promising him N5,000 per head. The pair had carried out five such operations before being caught.
Their last crime took place in the Amuloko area, where they exhumed a recently buried corpse following a tip-off from another accomplice named Afaa. After retrieving the head, they slept at a nearby school before being confronted by a night guard the following morning. While Bello was apprehended, Oladele managed to escape, only to be caught later that evening.
Oladele further revealed that Saheed, a native doctor, had initially started the operation but later limited his role to buying the severed heads from Bello. Both men are now in custody, facing further investigation.
