The Niger State Police Command has arrested four fathers and a 40-year-old native doctor over a plot to use their biological children for money rituals in Minna.
The suspects were arrested during a police operation at an isolated compound in the Garima area of Bosso Local Government Area of the state.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed this in a crime bulletin issued on Thursday, November 5, 2026.
According to the police, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit carried out the operation at about 8:30 p.m. on October 27, following intelligence reports about ritual activities at the location.
The four fathers were identified as Ibrahim Mohammed Hamisu, 43; Abubakar Abdullahi, 40; Aliyu Sule, 25; and Mohammed Idris Dogara, 57. The native doctor was identified as Shehu Abubakar, 40.
Items recovered from the scene included blood-stained red and white clothes, four calabashes, two live chickens, three slaughtered chickens, a blood-stained knife and a large mat on which the materials had been arranged.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the four men had approached the native doctor to perform money rituals using a human skeleton they claimed to have discovered during mining activities.
However, the native doctor initially rejected the request, stating that he was not involved in such practices.
The suspects reportedly persisted and offered their biological children as human sacrifices in exchange for different sums of money.
Police said the native doctor later instructed each of the men to purchase a chicken and report to a designated location for the ritual preparations.
Operatives reportedly arrived at the scene while the preparations were ongoing. One of the suspects, Aliyu Sule, was found holding a blood-stained knife while preparing to slaughter his chicken, while three others had already slaughtered theirs.
The command said the five suspects confessed during interrogation and were undergoing further investigation ahead of their prosecution.
The police condemned the plot, reiterating their commitment to combating ritual-related crimes and other criminal activities while ensuring the safety of residents across Niger State.
Abiodun urged members of the public to remain vigilant and provide security agencies with credible information about suspicious activities in their neighbourhoods to help prevent crime and protect lives.
