Residents of the Adamo area of Ikorodu, Lagos State, South-west Nigeria have arrested a suspect identified simply as Babalola who was allegedly in possession of a human skull.
Gatekeepers News reports that Lagos Police Spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin commended the residents for handing the suspect, said to be an Islamic cleric, to the Command.
The suspect was reportedly arrested alongside some yet-to-be-identified others.
A 29-second video online showed the moment the man, who was in 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.
Although details of the incident are still sketchy, Hundeyin, in a post on X on Saturday via his handle, @BenHundeyin, assured the residents that justice would be done concerning the matter.
Hundeyin, while retweeting the post about the incident by an X user, @DejiAdesogan, said, “We commend the good people of Ikorodu for doing the right thing and not yielding to jungle justice. We will ensure justice is done.”
@DejiAdesogan posted late Friday, “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.”
A resident, identified simply as Ayo, also told ThePUNCH 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.
