The Ogun State Community, Social Orientation and Safety Corps, also known as So-Safe Corps, has arrested a middle-aged man at a tomb in Kere, Obada-Oko, Abeokuta, Ogun State, for allegedly attempting to exhume a human skull.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by Soji Ganzallo, Commander of So-Safe Corps, through the office of the Director of Information and Public Relations, Assistant Commander Moruf Yusuf.
According to the statement, officers on routine patrol observed suspicious activity around 2:35 a.m. on January 21, 2025, on a parcel of land behind a church.
The suspect, identified as 54-year-old Adelani Oriyomi, was found hiding near a tomb. Once he believed the coast was clear, he resumed digging but was apprehended before he could escape.
During interrogation, Oriyomi, a resident of Kere, Obada-Oko in the Ewekoro Local Government Area, confessed to the crime.
He admitted to exhuming a skull from a tomb near his residence on January 18, 2025, and returning to retrieve another for a ritual preparation known as Osole.
Oriyomi also revealed he had hidden the previously exhumed skull in his room.
He further confessed to being a repeat offender, having sold nearly ten skulls in the past. Previous arrests for similar crimes led to two years of imprisonment in Ado-Odo and six years and nine months at the Oba Correctional Center.
Commander Ganzallo confirmed that the suspect and a fully dried human skull, recovered as evidence, have been handed over to the Nigeria Police Force at Obada Divisional Headquarters for further investigation and prosecution.
In his remarks, Ganzallo urged community leaders to thoroughly vet tenants and visitors to prevent harboring individuals involved in criminal activities.
He emphasized that such vigilance could account for 70% of home security, with the remaining 30% reliant on alertness to external threats.