Two men named Mustapha Bello, 32, and Oladele Damilare, 25, went to court on Monday because they were caught with a human head. They also disturbed a grave.
Mustapha is a carpenter and Oladele is a barber. They were charged with working together to do something illegal, having a human head without permission, and messing with a dead body.
Police officer Femi Oluwadare said that on August 12, Mustapha and Oladele had the head of a woman named Suliyat Olasunkanmi, 36. They had taken it from her grave without a good reason.
He said Mustapha and Oladele dug up Suliyat’s body from her grave, cut off her head and hands, and took them.
The officer explained, “Mustapha, the carpenter, works near where Suliyat was buried. He and Oladele returned the next day to cut off her head and hands.”
Their actions broke Sections 242 (1) (b), 329 A, and 516 of the Criminal Code in Oyo State’s laws from the year 2000.
If found guilty, the men could go to prison for two years for messing with a grave and five years for having a human head.
Mustapha and Oladele said they didn’t do it.
Chief Magistrate M. Mudashiru decided that they could be released if they each paid bail of N200,000. They also needed two people to promise that they would return to court. One of these people must be a family member, and the other must have at least N5 million in their bank account.
The next court date is set for October 21 for more discussions on this case.