Operatives of Amotekun Corps in Oyo State have arrested a suspected human parts merchant, Mutiu Abdul-Rasheed, for selling human body parts for ritual purposes.
The state corps Commandant, retired Colonel Olayinka Olayanju while addressing newsmen said the suspect had been under investigation for some months before he was finally nabbed.
He explained that the 40-year-old Abdul-Rasheed and his gang were operating in the Lagelu area of Ibadan before he was caught with fresh hands of some persons and other body parts while other members of the gang were still at large.
Retired Colonel Olayanju added that “ironically, calls have been coming in and individuals have been pressing for his release.”
However, the Oyo State Amotekun Corps commandant 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 office holders.
The suspect, Abdul-Rasheed, who reportedly hails from Ede in Osun State, said he belonged to a gang involved in getting fresh human parts and exhuming dead bodies of only the people that they knew their names and that of their parents’ before their demise.
He 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 reportedly recovered from the suspect include guns, charms, decaying body parts, motorcycle and car.
