Osun mortuary attendants, five others arrested for selling human parts

The Osun State Police Command announced on Wednesday that it has arrested seven suspects for selling human parts and water used to bathe corpses in the state.

A statement signed by the Acting Police Public Relations Officer for Osun Command, Emmanuel Giwa-Alade, noted that those arrested included two mortuary attendants: Johnson Daniel, aged 43, and Adetunji Okunade, aged 42.
Giwa-Alade, who listed the other suspects as Olaniyan Azeez, Balogun Temitope, Oladapo Hammed, Kazeem Rasaq, and Asaka Rauf, said the arrests were made following credible information from a concerned individual that Daniel, a mortuary attendant at Ipetu-Ijesa, was selling remains of corpses deposited at the mortuary where he worked to native doctors.

“The suspects used these remains obtained from the mortuary attendant (Johnson Daniel) for various ritual purposes. Daniel also confessed that he conspired with another mortuary attendant, Adetunji Okunade, to sell remnants of water used to bathe corpses to interested native doctors.

“During the investigation, a search was conducted at the residences of these suspects, leading to the recovery of fragments of substances suspected to be human skulls at the homes of Asaka Rauf and Oladapo Hammed, while a female pant and a notebook containing instructions on ritual practices were recovered from Balogun Temitope Asimiyu’s residence,” Giwa-Alade said.

The Osun Police Command spokesperson also reported that three people were arrested for canvassing support for the Yoruba Nation in the state.

According to him, Oluwafemi Fagbuyi, who was picked up at Obada Market in Ikire, where he was addressing people, urged his audience “to denounce their allegiance to Nigeria as a nation.” He claimed that Nigeria ended in 2014 after 100 years of amalgamation and displayed the Yoruba Nation’s flag in the process.

“The case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department after a preliminary investigation. Through diligent investigation, Joy Faseyiku, 63, and Alabede Janet, 64, were arrested in Osogbo and Ikire, respectively, in connection with the crime.

“The investigation has been concluded, and the suspects have been charged to the Federal High Court accordingly,” he added.