Kwara police arrest suspects over alleged grave exhumations and missing heads

Kwara State Police announced the arrest of three men on 8 October 2026 after an intelligence‑led investigation uncovered the exhumation of graves in Omupo, Ifelodun Local Government Area. The suspects, identified as brothers Abu and Ayo Jimoh and herbalist Mukaila Bello, were apprehended at about 5 a.m. while allegedly digging another grave in the cemetery.

The incident was first reported in May 2026 when community members visiting the cemetery to bury a deceased person discovered that several graves had been disturbed and the heads of the buried bodies were missing. According to the police commissioner, the brothers confessed during interrogation and named Bello as the buyer of the removed body parts.

Police have not yet recovered the missing heads and are continuing their search. The commissioner also noted that one of the brothers is physically challenged, and that the other brother, Ayo, has denied involvement, claiming he was simply following a rat that had entered the cemetery.

In a separate but related case, the same police command has detained four men over the possession of human hands allegedly intended for money‑making rituals. The details of this second incident are less clear, but the arrests were made in the same timeframe and location.

The command has stated that the suspects will be arraigned once the investigation is complete. The case has attracted attention from local communities and has raised concerns about the misuse of human remains for occult practices.

The discrepancy between the number of arrests reported by different news outlets—four men in one source and three in another—highlights the evolving nature of the investigation. Police officials have urged the public to cooperate with ongoing inquiries and to report any further suspicious activity in the area.