Nigerian police find 20 mummified bodies in ‘ritual shrine’

By Ibrahim Garba Shuaibu

KANO, Nigeria (AA)- Police in Nigeria have found 20 mummified bodies stacked on an iron rack in a “suspected ritual shrine,” a police spokesperson said.

Jennifer Iwegbu, the police spokesperson, said that the discovery was made in a building in Benin, the capital of the southern Edo state, on Wednesday.

“15 mummified male corpses, three mummified female corpses and two mummified children corpses were discovered at the scene,” Iwegbu added.

“At the scene, three suspects … were arrested while others fled. An intensive effort is ongoing to arrest the other fleeing suspects,” she added.

She said Abutu Yaro, the state commissioner of police, has directed the deputy commissioner to carry out a discreet investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the discovered corpses.