Uncategorized

Police Arrest Islamic Clerics Selling Human Skulls To Herbalist For Ritual

Published

10 years ago

August 2, 2014

Operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, attached to the Lagos State police command have arrested three suspected human parts dealers.
Two of the suspects who include Islamic clerics, Olasukunmi Owolabi and Usman Saliu while the third victims as been identified as Clement Omodijie were arrested as they where about to supply three human skulls to their buyers at Ikorodu area of Lagos.
The suspects who were accused of going to the Igbogbo cemetery in Ikorodu at night to exhume human skulls are currently helping the police to break the demand and supply chain of a trans-border syndicate which trades in human skulls.
According to police sources, the suspects alleged that the skulls found in their possession were sold to herbalists who in turn claimed that they used them to prepare concoctions for their sick customers. They also alleged that some were sold to customers from across the country who needed the skulls to perform rituals.
One of the suspects, Clement Omodijie, who works as a grave digger in the cemetery, pleaded that the only reason he accepted to demands for human skulls was that the buyer, Owolabi, claimed that he was using the ground skull to assist barren women to conceive without complications or operation.
He also said that he grinds human heads and mixes them with the powders some ladies carry in their handbags, saying that it helps those that are looking for choice husbands and big government contracts or companies’ lpos to secure them without stress. he also said that it can cure sickle cell anemia, among other ailments. “I told him that i didn’t have any but if i got one, I would call him.
“Owolabi happens to be my friend and for months, he had requested that I should assist him with human skulls instead of setting them ablaze. Initially, I told him that I do not indulge in such act but when he explained in details why he wanted the skulls, I decided to do his wish.
A few days later, I called him on the phone and told him that i had got some. he asked me where i kept it and i told him that I kept one in a nearby bush. He asked me to bring it to my house so that he would come later to collect it.”
“He gave me N4,000 for the first head he came to collect from my house. the following day, he bought another one for N4,000.”
“The naked truth is that there is nothing reasonable I have done with the N4,000 per human head that he has been paying me. I used it to drink gin or smoke cigarettes with it. it is the devil’s money. “I hardly fell sick since i was born. but after selling human heads to him, my health has been deteriorating.”
I buy drugs as if it is food, making me to spend more money than before.
“Normally, after three months, we will dig out the skeletons to make space for others. In Igbogbo cemetery, there are areas that are not owned by anyone. It’s the general burial ground and it gets filled up easily. To create a room for others, we will dig up the skeleton and cremate it. What I normally do is to select the bigger ones and throw it inside the bush without the knowledge of my colleagues. I will pick them up on my way home at night”, he stated.
He claimed that since he secured the job five years ago, he had never been involved himself in the sale of human skeletons till he met Owolabi.
According to him: “I used to be a block moulder till I got this job. It was a better alternative since they were paying me N23,000 a month. I did not indulge in the act for financial gain. I was only paid N4,000 which was just given to me by Owolabi as a way to say thank you. I know that he is a herbalist and one of my relatives had once told me that ground skull can be used to make native medicine potent.”
“Besides, the skeleton belongs to no one and I felt it was being recycled. Instead of setting it ablaze, why not dedicate it for procreation. I really don’t know my crime, why police chose to punish me. I am innocent. I do not sell fresh corpse because it is an abomination. It was just like going to the garbage to select things that can still be of use and sell them. If it is a crime, I am sorry. Please, forgive me and do not allow my children to suffer unjustly”, he pleaded.
Another suspect, Owolabi, who hails from Oyo State claimed that he learnt about the potency of human skull two years ago. His words: “I did my Arabic studies in Kwara State 13 years ago. I used to organise prayers for people and at the end of the day, they will show appreciation. It could be for business, child bearing and so many other issues of life. For those who are sick, I will mix herbs and roots for them.
In the course of my duty, I travelled to Kano and Kaduna states. Most of my colleagues taught me that I could get better in healing people especially barren women if I add a little bit of ground skull to my drugs.
“I was reluctant because it is a taboo to be found with a human skull in Nigeria. I refused to give it a try but in recent times, my business started dwindling. People were no longer coming back for prayers and some of my colleagues told me to look for ways to make my drugs more potent. It was then that I decided to give it a try.”
“I decided to make, Omodijie, my friend. We became good friends and hanged out severally. It was in one of our outings that I mentioned the idea to him. Initially he refused but I was able to convince him months later that his secret was safe with me. I knew that his salary was not much, so I told him that I will also pay him for his services.”
Owolabi speaking of their arrest said: “I was shocked when the man who claims to be an Alhaji turned out to be a policeman. I tried my best not to mention the name of Omodijie but when I realised that my captors were policemen from SARS, I had to tell them everything they wanted to know. This was necessary before they will assume that I am into ritual killing”, I am telling the truth. Please, do not publish this story because my customers will run away”, he begged.
Meanwhile the third suspect, Saliu, who hails from Ilesha in Osun State, also claims that he attended an Islamic school where he learnt Arabic studies.
“I do not believe that human skull can be used to prepare charms but some of my colleagues, including Owolabi, believe in it. I knew that he had access to human skulls, that was why I contacted him to help me. I know colleagues who had demand for it; all I did was to contact Owolabi. I never knew that it was a set-up by the police to arrest us. I am terribly sorry and will assist the police to find those who I supplied the skulls to.”