The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger on Saturday paraded three suspects who were caught with a human head.
Philip Ayuba, the Commandant of NSCDC in the state, told newsmen in Minna that the suspects were arrested in Mokwa Local Government Area of the state.
He said that the suspects aged 34, 35 and 24 hail from Ekpa village in Mokwa.
“I invited you here to see three suspects that we arrested on the ground of possession of a human head. After we arrested them, they confessed to us that they own the human head,” he said.
Ayuba said the suspects were arrested on Thursday while negotiating the sale of the head in Mokwa.
“Our personnel pretended to be bargaining with them on how much to pay before they were arrested,” he said.
The NSCDC boss said that the suspects had made confessional statements in writing, adding that they would be handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.
The principal suspect told journalists that his brother had invited him to his house to see the human head and assist in getting a buyer.
“I looked for a buyer for five months. So when I approached one Isah to buy the head he agreed and said that he has a buyer in Mokwa. When the buyer came we started negotiating the price with him and it was in that process that we were arrested,” he said.
Another suspect claimed that the head belonged to a decomposing female corpse which was found during a hunting expedition.
He said that he and another accomplice decided to cut off the head and sell it to make money.
“Two of us decided in the bush that we will sell the head to scientists and make money,” he said.
