The police in Niger state have apprehended five individuals found in possession of a human skull.
These suspects, identified as Isah Mohammed (26), Idris Mohammed (28), Ibrahim Jiya (18), Suleiman Usman (22), and Abdullahi Usman (24), confessed to digging up the three-year-old corpse of Ndako Daniyan from the burial ground in Sakpe village, Edati local government area of Niger state.
Upon interrogation, Isah and Abdullahi revealed that they sought the assistance of an Islamic Cleric, Alfa Suleiman from Kwara State in Bida, to attain wealth quickly. They were instructed to retrieve a human skull for rituals, which they were to take to an individual in the Kpakungun area in Minna along with a payment of N30,000. However, they were intercepted by the police on their way.
“We went to the burial ground in Sakpe village and we dug up the body. From what we saw, the person had been dead for three years and he was from Sakpe village. The reason why we did this is because we want to be rich. It is not easy living in Nigeria. Life is hard and we want to be rich so that we will leave this poverty and life of hardship,” Isah said
The spokesperson of the Niger Police command, DSP Abiodun Wasiu, confirmed the arrest of Isah Mohammed and Idris Mohammed on September 11 by operatives of a sister security agency during a routine patrol at the toll-gate along Bida-Minna road. The suspects were found in possession of the skull, wrapped in a bag during a search.
Further investigation revealed that three other individuals assisted in the grave excavation, leading to the arrest of the other three suspects. The five individuals have been transferred to SCID Minna for thorough investigation and possible prosecution as the case remains under investigation.