JUST-IN: Four Fathers Arrested Over Alleged Child Sale for Money Rituals in Niger State

The Niger State Police Command has arrested five men, including four fathers accused of offering their biological children as sacrifices in exchange for wealth during an alleged money ritual.

The suspects were apprehended on October 27, 2026, at an isolated compound in the Garima area of Bosso, Minna, where police operatives reportedly disrupted a suspected ritual ceremony.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed that the suspects were identified as Mohammed Idris Dogara, 57; Aliyu Sule, 25; Abubakar Abdullahi, 40; Ibrahim Mohammed Hamisu, 43; and Shehu Abubakar, 40, a native doctor.

According to the police, preliminary investigations revealed that the four men approached the native doctor to perform money rituals using a skeleton allegedly discovered during mining activities.

Although the native doctor initially declined, the men reportedly insisted and offered their children as sacrifices in exchange for different sums of money.

Police said the native doctor subsequently instructed them to purchase chickens and meet at a designated location for the ritual.

The suspects were arrested while carrying out the activities. Recovered items included blood-stained clothes, four calabashes, two live chickens, three slaughtered chickens, a blood-stained knife and a large mat.

The command added that the suspects had confessed to the allegations and were undergoing further investigation before being charged to court.

However, police did not disclose the identities or whereabouts of the children allegedly offered for the ritual or confirm whether any of them had been harmed.