Money ritual: Police nab five in possession of human skull in Niger

The Niger State Police Command has apprehended five suspects allegedly involved in the possession of a human skull for a money ritual along the Minna-Bida road in the state.

Initially, it was reported that two of the suspects, Isah Mohammed (26 years old) and Idris Mohammed (28 years old), both from Sakpe village in Edati Local Government Area, were caught with the skull wrapped in a bag by a sister security agency during a routine patrol.

The two suspects were later handed over to the state Police Area Command in Bida for further investigation. During this process, they revealed the names of three others who assisted them in exhuming a corpse and removing the head.

Confirming the incident in Minna, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), DSP Wasiu Abiodun, stated that the suspects were intercepted in a Mitsubishi Lancer vehicle by a sister security agency at the toll gate along Bida-Minna while searching the passengers on September 11, 2023, in the afternoon.

According to him, “During police interrogation, the suspects claimed that they obtained the human skull from their village and were aided by three other individuals to the grave where the skull was exhumed.”

The additional suspects include Ibrahim Jiya (18 years old), Suleiman Usman (22 years old), and Abdullahi Usman (24 years old), all hailing from the same address.

The police spokesman further stated that the three suspects were also apprehended and confessed that the skull was dug out from the burial ground in Sakpe village, belonging to Ndako Daniyan, who passed away three years ago in the same village.

He added, “Two of the suspects, Isah and Abdullahi, claimed to have met an individual named Alfa Suleiman from Kwara State in Bida three weeks ago. He instructed them to obtain a human skull for a money ritual and advised them to take it to someone in Minna, providing N30,000 for the purpose. The unknown recipient instructed them to call him when they reached Kpakungu, and he would meet them.”

The five suspects have been transferred to SCID Minna for a thorough investigation and diligent prosecution of the case.