The Osun State Police Command has arrested a man, Saheed Babalola, for allegedly exhuming and mutilating the corpse of an 18-year-old girl buried in Feesu community, near Iwo, Osun State.
The suspect was arrested after residents reportedly caught him at the burial site in the early hours of Monday, October 12, while two other alleged accomplices fled. The incident was confirmed by the Police Public Relations Officer of the command, Abiodun Ojelabi.
The deceased, who lived in the same compound with the suspect at Olomo Compound, Feesu, was said to have died under circumstances described as unnatural on Sunday, October 11, and was buried within the premises that same day.
Babalola reportedly joined other mourners at the burial before allegedly returning to the site with two others in the early hours of the following day.
The trio were said to have exhumed the corpse and severed the victim’s head and wrist before residents, alerted by unusual sounds from the burial site, intervened.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said members of the community apprehended Babalola and handed him over to the police, while the other suspects escaped.
“Three people came to perpetrate the act, but we were able to apprehend one of them, and he was handed over to the police,” the resident said.
Confirming the incident, Ojelabi said officers attached to the Iwo Police Division arrested the suspect before transferring him to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.
According to the police spokesman, investigators recovered the severed head and hand of the deceased from a location identified during the investigation.
“The State CID went further with the investigation and discovered where he kept the head and the hand of the victim.
“We were able to recover the head and the hand. Investigation is still ongoing,” Ojelabi said.
He reiterated that the suspect and the deceased were neighbours at Olomo Compound, Feesu, Iwo.
The police have yet to disclose the identities of the two other alleged accomplices or establish a motive for the incident.
The arrest comes amid reports of similar cases involving the alleged removal of human body parts from exhumed corpses in other parts of the country.
The Kwara State Police Command recently arrested four men in connection with two separate incidents involving the alleged removal of human heads from exhumed corpses and the possession of suspected human hands reportedly intended for money-making rituals.
The Osun Police Command said investigation into the Feesu incident was continuing.
