A 55-year-old hunter identified as Yusuf Garba, also known as Gana, has been arrested by men of the Adamawa State Police Command for allegedly digging a grave and cutting off the head of his stepfather.
Confirming the arrest to newsmen, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Suleiman Yahaya Nguroje, said the suspect confessed to the crime during interrogation.
Nguroje said Garba, who hails from Tappare Kona Uku in Jada Local Government Area of the state, explained that the son of the deceased had approached him and demanded his father’s head for ritual purposes after his demise.
He said that when his stepfather d!ed, his son had tried to take the corpse to Jalingo in Taraba State for burial but was denied. He mentioned that a year after the burial, the son returned and asked for his father’s head for traditional rites.
Garba claimed that he was pressured by his stepfather’s son, who he believed was a witch and could harm him or his children if he refused to comply.
“I took a hoe around 4:00 am, went to the graveyard, dug the grave, and cut off the head.”
He then returned home and gave the head to the son in a polythene bag.
The suspect further explained that after two weeks, the wife of the deceased came to him and reported having terrible dreams since the head was kept in their bedroom.
Garba said he performed a ritual to stop the dreams.
The police spokesman, SP Nguroje, stated that the Commissioner of Police, CP Morris Dankombo, had ordered a discreet investigation and prosecution of the suspect.