Nigeria/ Skull Quest: Five Men’s dark ritual Journey

In Nigeria, five men have received 12-year prison sentences after being found guilty of exhuming a human skull.

Their intention was to deliver the skull to a traditional healer who claimed it was necessary for rituals that would bring them wealth.

The men admitted their guilt after they were apprehended with the skull concealed in a bag.

According to the prosecutor, they had exhumed the skull from a body buried three years earlier in a Muslim cemetery in Niger state, located in the north-central region of the country.

The traditional healer had allegedly promised them wealth in exchange for the skull and directed them to acquire it.

Security officers arrested the individuals, aged between 18 and 28, in early September as they were transporting the remains to a third party based on the healer’s instructions.

A court in Minna, the capital of Niger state, convicted the men on charges of criminal conspiracy, trespassing on burial grounds, and unlawful possession of a human skull.

Notably, the traditional healer was not arrested or charged in connection with the incident.

The belief in «juju», sometimes referred to as voodoo or magic, is relatively common in Nigeria.

Many individuals integrate these beliefs with either Christianity or Islam. These belief systems have, in some cases, been associated with gruesome murders in Nigeria, targeting vulnerable individuals, including children, single women, and people with disabilities.

Reports suggest that body parts are sometimes sold and used in rituals aimed at generating wealth.

The practice of money-making rituals in Nigeria has also been exacerbated by increasing economic hardships in a country where a significant portion of the population lives in poverty.