A Chief Magistrate Court, sitting in Minna, Niger State, has sentenced five men to 12 years in prison each over their involvement in exhuming human skulls.
The suspects were found guilty of three charges of criminal conspiracy, trespass on burial grounds, and unlawful possession of human skull.
The convicts included Ibrahim Jiya, Suleiman Usman, Abdullahi Usman, Idris Mohammed, and Isah Mohammed, all from Sakpe village in Edati Local Government Area of Niger State.
The police prosecutor, Inspector Mua’azu Abdullahi, told the court that the charges were punishable under sections 97, 213 and 219 of the Penal Code.
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He explained that the convicts, nabbed by the police from the Bida Area Command Office, were caught with a Bagco bag containing human skull, dug from a Muslim cemetery in their community, and being taken to an herbalist in Minna for money ritual.
Abdullahi said after reporting the case to the police in Bida, it was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) for discrete investigation.
According to the charges the skull belonged to the late Yan Ndako Daniya, who died three years ago.
The convicts pleaded guilty to all the charges when the charges were read to them.
Delivering judgment on Monday, the presiding magistrate, Hajiya Fati Umar Hassan, sentenced each suspect to a 12-year jail term without the option of a fine.
