The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Gombe State Command, has arrested six men for allegedly exhuming the body of an 85-year-old man and harvesting his eyes for ritual purposes in Kwami Local Government Area.
Mr Buhari Sa’ad, the command’s Public Relations Officer, confirmed the arrest in a statement issued in Gombe on Saturday.
He said the suspects dug up the grave of the late Mallam Manu Wanzam, who was buried on Sept. 9 at Gadam North Cemetery.
According to him, the prime suspect, Kawuji Sarki, 39, a father of six, confessed that one Aliyu Chindo contracted them to remove the deceased’s eyes at the cost of N500,000 each.
He added that Sarki also revealed that Chindo disappeared with the body parts after collecting them, leaving the gang unpaid before operatives apprehended them.
Other suspects arrested are Adamu Umar, 22; Umar Jibrin Aboki, 21; Abdullahi Umar Dauda, 17; Muhammed Isa Chindo, 28; and Manu Sale, 23.
Sa’ad said one accomplice was still at large.
The State Commandant of the NSCDC, Mr Jibrin Idris, who described the act as “barbaric,” assured that the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.
