A 37-year-old man, Yusuf Adinohi, has confessed to selling human skulls after being arrested by police detectives in Ondo state.

He claims he started this illegal business to pay for his sick mother’s medical treatment.

Adinohi was caught in Isua-Akoko, Ondo state, with eight human skulls. He was on his way from Okene in Kogi State to Osogbo in Osun State when he was stopped by security officers at the Agbasi Locust checkpoint around 11 am.

A team of security operatives intercepted the commercial vehicle he was traveling in, which had four passengers. During the investigation, Adinohi admitted that the eight dry skulls were his. He said he was going to deliver them to another herbalist in Osogbo.

In an interview at the police headquarters in Akure, Adinohi revealed that he had sold seven human skulls for N35,000 each, earning a total of N245,000. He explained, “This will be my third time in this business. On the first trip, I sold four, the second time, I sold three, and this latest one, eight human skulls.”

Adinohi shared that he buys the skulls from his friend, Ismaila, who gets them from burial grounds. “Before I ventured into this business, I was buying and selling palm oil and cashew nuts, but it was not fetching me much money,” he said.

“My mother has been sick, and we took her to a hospital in Lokoja. The doctor said we need N2 million for her treatment. So I had no choice but to venture into the skull business. My intention was to leave the business once I gathered the money to settle my mother’s medical bills.”

“So far, from the seven that I had sold, I’ve made N245,000. I actually sold them to different people. I met the buyers on Facebook. He told me that he’s a herbalist,” Adinohi added.

State Police Commissioner Abayomi Oladipo confirmed that Adinohi was caught during a stop-and-search operation at Isua Akoko. Oladipo said the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigations.