Residents of Idi-Arere community in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, were in shock last Saturday when they discovered the corpse of one Alhaji Kolawole Waheed, with vital organs of his body missing.
Waheed died last Thursday and was buried on Friday, according to Islamic rites.
The deceased’s brother, Taofeek Adebayo, told The PUNCH, that the 68-year-old was hit by a car while inside a tricycle, adding that he was taken to a hospital where he died three days after.
“On Saturday morning, an older brother called my wife’s phone. He told me some people had removed Waheed’s head. I rushed down there and discovered that they also removed his hand and intestines.
“Three houses surround the grave and everyone said they didn’t know anything about it,” Adebayo said.
A resident, Seun Aribikola, said that the grave was between two buildings, with an old grave beside it.
He said the incident was later reported to the police.
“When the police got there, they noticed that his head, right hand wrist, and intestines had been taken away,” he added.
The medium also reported that there was an uncompleted building beside the grave occupied by one Alfa.
“When I entered that uncompleted building, I saw an Ogun shrine, where they poured oil on an iron sculpture,” Aribikola said.
Alfa, who identified himself as Rosheed, said he worked in the uncompleted building as an herbalist and a tailor.
He said: “I make traditional herbs to cure illnesses. I live in the third house and use this place as a workshop. I am the only one using this place.”
Alfa noted that he left the workshop (the uncompleted building) around 8pm on Friday and had no knowledge of what happened to the corpse.
His wife, Mujidat, also stated that he only cure illnesses with herbs.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, insisted that the corpse was removed from the grave in the early hours of Saturday.
“This kind of a thing has never happened before in this community,” he added.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Adewale Osifeso, confirmed the incident, but declined further comments.
He said the case “is under investigation and updates will be provided accordingly.”
The use of human parts for ritual purposes is on the rise in Oyo State.
Two weeks ago, a cleric, Tiamiyu Abass, was arrested in Oke-Oroki community, Atiba Local Government Area, with the body parts of his female customer, identified only as Barakat.
The police spokesperson had said the remains of the victim were stuffed in a sack and recovered from the suspect.
