Five suspects have been arrested by a sister security agency for unlawful possession of a human skull while on routine patrol at the toll gate along Bida-Minna Road on September 11, 2023, at about 12:30 hrs.
The Police Public Relations Officer PPRO, Niger State Command DSP Wasiu Abidoun, said in a press release issued and obtained by Newsline on Friday that the suspects were interceded inside a Mitsubishi Lancer vehicle while in the course of searching the passenger, from where they were arrested.
The two arrested suspects, according to him, were Isah Mohammed, 26 years old, and Idris Mohammed, 28 years old; both of them are from Sakpe village in Edati Local Government Area of Niger state.
DSP Wasiu said the two suspects were found to be in possession of a human skull wrapped in a Bagco bag; hence, they were transferred to the Police Area Command Bida for interrogation and further investigation.
The PPRO further disclosed that the suspects, during interrogation, claimed that they got the human skull from their village and mentioned three other persons who aided in digging the grave where they exhumed the skull.
These included Ibrahim Jiya (18 years), Suleiman Usman (22 years), and Abdullahi Usman (24 years), all at the same address mentioned above.
Isah and Abdullahi, according to the PPRO, claimed to have met one Alfa Suleiman from Kwara State at Bida three weeks earlier, who told them to get a human skull for him for money ritual purposes and instructed them to take it to someone in Minna with thirty thousand naira only, while the unknown recipient said that when they get to Kpakungu, they should call him to meet them to receive the message.
The five suspects, DSP Wasiu Abidoun said, have been transferred to SCID Minna for discreet investigations and diligent prosecution while the case was under investigation.