By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
The Niger State Police Command has arrested a 31-year-old man, Ahmadu Jiya of Gbafu village near Enagi, for allegedly exhuming the corpse of his maternal grandmother and removing her skull for money ritual purposes.
Jiya was apprehended alongside four alleged accomplices: 70-year-old Mohammed Ndache of Nagya, Edati; Abubakar Mohammed, 21, of Duma village in Lavun; Mallam Ali Mohammed, 20, of Tsyaduka via Lemu in Gbako LGA; and Mohammed Adamu, 25, of Edati. They were arrested in a hotel in Bida, the headquarters of Bida Local Government Area.
Spokesperson for the Niger State Police Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed in a statement that the arrest followed credible intelligence received on July 19, 2025.
“Police operatives arrested five suspects in a hotel in Bida with a human skull during an investigation into suspected ritual activity. The principal suspect, Ahmadu Jiya, confessed that the skull belonged to his late grandmother, who died at over 90 years of age. He exhumed her remains to use the skull for money rituals in a bid to offset over N2 million debt,” Abiodun said.
According to the police, Jiya claimed he was directed by a herbalist, Mohammed Ndache, to bring a human head, dead or alive, for the ritual. Jiya initially took the skull to Ndache along with his friend, Mohammed Adamu. However, upon learning the details of the ritual process, he changed his mind and returned to his village, hiding the skull in his house.
Two years later, Mohammed Adamu reportedly returned to Jiya with another person, Abubakar Mohammed, offering to buy the skull. Jiya agreed to sell it for N100,000 but received N40,000 as part payment and handed over the skull.
The two men then went back to Ndache, who introduced another herbalist, Mallam Ali Mohammed, allegedly known for “money doubling.” The ritual reportedly involved the use of a drum and the skull, for which they paid N500,000 in installments.
However, after weeks with no results, Adamu and Abubakar demanded a refund from Mallam Ali. He asked them to meet him in a hotel in Bida, promising to deliver the money. Ndache was also invited to the hotel. It was at this point that police operatives swooped in and arrested all the suspects.
They are currently in custody at the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Minna, where discreet investigations are ongoing.