The Oyo State Police Command has arrested two individuals suspected of exhuming corpses and selling human body parts to ritualists.
In a statement issued on Friday in Ibadan, the command’s spokesperson, Adewale Osifeso, said the arrest followed a tip-off received by officers at the Iyaganku Divisional Police Headquarters.
Acting on the information, detectives conducted a search at a suspect’s residence in the Muslim area of Ibadan.
During the operation, police recovered a female human torso, severed limbs, dried bones, and other dismembered body parts stored in bags and paint buckets.
The suspect reportedly confessed to exhuming a corpse from a cemetery in Awa-Ijebu, located in Ogun State’s Ijebu North Local Government Area.
He also admitted to selling the remains to ritualists.
Following the confession, detectives were led to the cemetery where the exhumation took place.
Further investigations led to the arrest of a second suspect, a septuagenarian who allegedly purchased some of the human parts.
According to the police, the second suspect also admitted to being involved in the illegal trade.
The case has been transferred to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.
Authorities are continuing efforts to identify and arrest others connected to the crime.
The state’s Commissioner of Police, Johnson Ademola, has urged cemetery operators to increase vigilance in light of recent incidents involving ritualists.
He also advised transporters to be more cautious and check passengers’ luggage to prevent unknowingly aiding criminal activities.