Lagos police commend residents for arresting cleric with human skull

The Lagos State Police Command has commended residents of the Adamo area of Ikorodu for apprehending a suspect identified simply as Babalola who was allegedly in possession of a human skull.

PUNCH Online gathered that the residents handed over the suspect, said to be an Islamic cleric, to the police.

He was reportedly arrested alongside some yet-to-be-identified others.

A 29-second video obtained by our correspondent from one of the residents on Saturday showed the moment the man, who was in a native wear, was surrounded by residents and officials of the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps.

He was seen putting a human skull and other suspected human parts in a polythene bag as he bled from one of his eyes.

Details of the incident are still sketchy as of press time but the spokesperson for the state police command, Benjamin Hundeyin, in a post on X on Saturday via his handle, @BenHundeyin, assured the residents that justice would be done concerning the matter.

“We commend the good people of Ikorodu for doing the right thing and not yielding to jungle justice. We will ensure justice is done,” Hundeyin said while retweeting the post by an X user, @DejiAdesogan, about the incident.

“Residents of Adamo area of Ikorodu, Lagos State, have handed over a popular Islamic cleric and four of his men to the police after they were allegedly caught with a human skull and other parts of a human body,” @DejiAdesogan posted late Friday.

A resident, identified simply as Ayo, also told our correspondent on Saturday that the man was apprehended on Thursday.

Ayo said, “The man was caught alongside others in the Adamo area of Ikorodu. They’ve been taken to the anti-kidnapping police unit at Araro, Adamo.”

Some X users on Saturday, however, noted that the man may not have been a genuine cleric.

@SenTawfiq posted, “Call him Babalawo (traditionalist), not Chief Imam please.”

“Babalawo, not imam,” @Muneersyeed wrote.

“Chief Imam ke! This one is a Babalawo, hiding under the banner of Islam as a chief Imam. God forbid bad things abeg,” @MusaMD81 said in a comment.

The development is coming amid growing concerns over the recent spate of kidnapping in the country.

Abductions, which were previously restricted to the North-West, have in recent times, spread to other parts of the country including Lagos, Ogun and Delta States, as well as the Federal Capital Territory.

The crisis came to a head last week when bandits took their battles to the FCT when they kidnapped 23 people in the Bwari area of the federal capital.

As part of efforts to tackle the menace, the Federal Government, on Wednesday, warned against raising funds for ransoms.

Expressing concern about the abduction epidemic, the South-South governors on Thursday urged the FG to do more in the management of security in the country.