Human Parts Merchant Arrested In Oyo State

Operatives of Amotekun Corps in Oyo State on Tuesday arrested a suspected human parts merchant, Mutiu Abdul-Rasheed, over dealing in human body parts for ritual purposes.

The corps said the 40-year-old man was caught with fresh hands of some persons and other body parts.

Abdul-Rasheed, who reportedly hails from Ede in Osun State, said he belonged to a gang involved in getting fresh human parts for some people and at the same time exhuming dead bodies of people that they knew their names and parents' names before their demise. But other members of the gang were said to be at large.

The Commandant of Amotekun Corps in the state, Col. Olayinka Olayanju (retd) told journalists that the suspect was investigated for some months before he was nabbed. He added that "ironically, calls have been coming in and individuals have been pressing for his release."

However, Olayanju did not mention the names of people that had been pressurising the security outfit to release the suspect, and he did not also give any indication whether the people calling for the suspect's release are private citizens or public officeholders.

The gang was said to have operated in the Lagelu area of Ibadan before the Abdul-Rasheed was caught. 

Abdul-Rasheed said: "We only exhume bodies that are known to us because we must know the dead person when he or she was alive. 

"We must also know his or her name as well as their mother's name. Knowing the name of the mother of the dead person that we want to sell the body parts costs from those that buy the human parts from us more." 

Items recovered from the suspect include guns, charms, decaying body parts, motorcycle, and car.