A police operation that began with months of surveillance ended with 10 arrests, grisly exhibits and renewed concern over an underground trade many believed had faded into history.
A month-long intelligence operation by the Oyo State Police Command has led to the arrest of 10 suspects believed to be part of an alleged human parts trafficking network operating across parts of the state, in what investigators describe as one of the Command’s most significant breakthroughs against ritual-related crime in recent times.
The suspects were apprehended during coordinated raids on hideouts in Iseyin and Saki, following what police said was an extensive period of surveillance and intelligence gathering by operatives of the Command Monitoring Unit.
Police identified those arrested as Adam Ibrahim (42), Nasiru Kabiru (22), Tijani Wasiu (54), Abiola Nasiru (45), Amusa Gbadamosi (57), Raheem Taofeek (46), Jimoh Muritala (35), Suleiman Busari (47), Ganiyu Nurudeen (36) and Usman Abdullahi (52).
Searches conducted at the locations allegedly uncovered suspected human remains, including what investigators described as a human heart, pieces of a human skull, human flesh and assorted charms. The recovered exhibits have been secured for forensic examination to determine their origin and possible connection to other criminal investigations.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, some of the suspects have made statements to investigators regarding their alleged roles in the illicit trade and are assisting detectives in tracing the source of the recovered body parts, identifying other members of the network and establishing the intended purpose of the exhibits.
Police said efforts were continuing to dismantle the suspected syndicate and arrest additional persons who may have played roles in the procurement, movement or sale of human remains.
The arrests have once again drawn attention to a form of criminality that has repeatedly resurfaced in different parts of Nigeria despite years of police operations, prosecutions and public awareness campaigns.
For decades, investigators and journalists have documented allegations of clandestine networks that procure human body parts for ritual purposes. One of the earliest and most haunting accounts emerged from an investigative prison interview originally published by the Nigerian Tribune and later revisited by veteran journalist Lasisi Olagunju. In that account, a convicted grave robber narrated how, as a homeless teenager in Ibadan, he was recruited by a herbalist to exhume newly buried corpses and retrieve specific body parts for payment. His testimony suggested the existence of an organised chain involving informants who monitored fresh burials, suppliers who carried out the exhumations and buyers who commissioned particular body parts for ritual purposes.
Although that account dates back several decades, recent police operations indicate that the alleged trade has not disappeared.
In recent years, law enforcement agencies have announced arrests linked to suspected ritual killings, grave desecration and trafficking in human remains in states including Ogun, Kwara, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Anambra, Enugu and Oyo, reinforcing concerns among criminologists that demand for human body parts continues to sustain organised criminal networks.
Commissioner of Police CP Abimbola Ayodeji Olugbenga commended the officers who carried out the operation, describing it as the product of painstaking intelligence work.
He reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to dismantling criminal syndicates and urged members of the public to continue providing credible information that could assist security agencies in preventing violent crime.
For investigators, however, the significance of the latest arrests extends beyond the 10 suspects already in custody. The forensic examination of the recovered exhibits and the ongoing investigation are expected to determine not only where the human remains came from, but whether the operation has exposed a wider criminal network operating beyond Oyo State.
