Operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team in Lagos have reportedly arrested a 65-yr-old man, Samuel Olaniyi for beheading his late brother’s corpse for money ritual.

The suspect, according to Punch was arrested alongside two others, identified as Uchenna Olewunna and Sunday Mathew.

Olaniyi was reported to have led Uchenna and Sunday to the grave site of his late brother identified as Idowu Jimoh at Ato area of Ogun State, removed his head and was about taking it to a native doctor when he was arrested, Punch reports.

Olaniyi following his arrest told the police that he was a palm wine tapper, adding that it was his friend, Mathew, who sold the money ritual idea to him. 

The 65-yr-old man said Mathew was the one who approached Olewunna, a native doctor, who had no idea about how to perform money ritual.

He added that Olewunna connected Mathew to another native doctor at Sango Ota, who demanded a human skull for the ritual, insisting that the skull must belong to someone familiar to them.

Olaniyi further said he took Olewunna and Mathew to his brother’s grave, exhumed the body, removed the head and kept in an uncompleted building for days. He added that he was about to take it to the native doctor when he was arrested.

A police source disclosed that the IRT went into action when they got a hint that Olaniyi had beheaded his brother’s corpse.

The source according to Punch said Olaniyi was traced to Sango Ota where he was arrested alongside Mathew and Olewunna.

Confessing to the crime, Mathew, 52 said, “This is the first time I would be involved in dealing with human parts.

‘The three of us went to the gravesite on a motorcycle, Uchenna dug the grave while Samuel held a torch and I was the person looking out for who might be coming to the place.

“After we took the head of the corpse, we gave it to Samuel who kept it in an uncompleted building. We informed the native doctor and he asked us to bring N48,000.

“After raising some of the money, the native doctor asked us to come with the skull and charcoal but while we were on our way, we were arrested by the police.”

While confessing, Olaniyi blamed his friend for the crime, saying he deeply regretted his action.

“It was my friend that got me involved in this mess. I was hoping to become very rich because the native doctor said money would be coming out of the skull regularly.

“It was the native doctor that got us into the problem because he said he would take out of it and all of us would share the rest.”

According to the IRT official, the suspects will be charged to court as soon as investigation into the matter is concluded.