Police Arrest Four Over Missing Human Heads, Suspected Hands in Kwara

The Kwara State Police Command has arrested four men in connection with two separate cases involving the alleged removal of human heads from exhumed graves and the possession of suspected human hands allegedly intended for money-making rituals.

The Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, disclosed this on Tuesday while briefing journalists at the command headquarters in Ilorin, where he outlined the progress of investigations into the incidents.

In the first case, police arrested two men, identified as Abu Jimoh and Ayo Jimoh, over the alleged exhumation of graves and removal of human heads from bodies buried at a cemetery in Omupo, Kwara State.

According to the police, the incident was discovered in May 2026 when residents visited the cemetery to bury a deceased person and found that some graves had been dug up, with the heads of the buried bodies missing.

Adekimi said operatives arrested the two suspects at about 5 a.m. on October 8, 2026, following what he described as a painstaking, intelligence-led investigation.

“Following a painstaking, intelligence-led investigation, operatives arrested Abu Jimoh and Ayo Jimoh at about 5:00 a.m. on October 8, 2026, while they were allegedly digging graves within the cemetery,” the commissioner said.

He added that the suspects reportedly confessed during interrogation and identified a herbalist, Mukaila Bello, as the alleged buyer of the missing human heads.

However, the police did not establish whether Bello had been arrested as of the time of the briefing.

The command said investigations into the case were ongoing and that the suspects would be arraigned in court upon their conclusion.

In a separate incident, police arrested two other men, Kamalden Lukmon and AbdulGaniyu Ibrahim, after recovering two suspected human hands during an operation along Bakase Road in Alapa, Kwara State.

The arrests were made at about 4 p.m. on October 8, with the discovery prompting further investigations into the origin of the suspected body parts and the circumstances surrounding the suspects’ possession of them.

According to the commissioner, preliminary interrogation indicated that the two suspects intended to use the body parts for money-making rituals.

“During preliminary interrogation, the suspects stated that they intended to use the body parts for money-making rituals,” he said.

The suspects reportedly told investigators that a vigilante member, identified as Abdulraf Apata, had handed the suspected human hands over to them.

The police said the allegation against Apata was being investigated to establish the facts and determine whether other individuals were involved.

Lukmon and Ibrahim are being held at the command’s Violent Crimes Response Unit as investigations continue.

The police added that investigators were working to establish the identity of the possible victim and determine the circumstances surrounding the death linked to the case.

The command said investigations into both incidents would continue, with the aim of establishing the full circumstances of the alleged offences and identifying any other persons who may have been involved.

The allegations against the suspects have yet to be established in court.