Three weeks after the discovery of scores of decomposing human bodies and kidnapped people at a forest in Soka area of Ibadan, a five-man forensic team, from the Force Criminal Investigation Department Abuja, visited the site on Monday.
The team which included a pathologist, came to gather evidence and exhume human parts that were buried on the site. The Oyo State Police Command also said that at least 60 suspects had been arrested in connection with the discovery.
The teams arrived the site around 10.30am with 20 policemen which included Mr. Babale Aminu,who led the FCID team, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Dasuki Galadachi who led some policemen from the Oyo State Police Command and Dr. Eze Nwom who led the team of forensic experts.Experts from the University College Hospital Ibadan, were also on the ground to help during the forensic evaluation.
Forbidding media interference, the team mapped out the entire area. Several pieces of items were picked and kept in cartons while the mass burial site was also exhumed.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Ilobanefor, told journalists at the site that the experts from the FCID Abuja had come on the directive of the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar.
She added that the results of the forensic evaluation would be used to ascertain the claims of relatives who report missing loved ones in the future.
She said, “The teams are all here to gather evidences and human bones already buried here so that they can be kept for forensic analysis. This exercise is also useful for future events. In case we have people looking for their missing relatives, we can always take a DNA sample from them and match with what we have from this exercise. That will tell if their relatives were victims of what happened here or not.”
“The reason for this exercise is also to get to the root of the matter. The police are committed to ensuring that evidence is not lost; they would be preserved and used in this investigation. The police and experts have been coming here since the place was discovered but today is the final day of their work. After this exercise, the place will be handed over to the state government.”
She added that about 60 suspects were already in police custody, with majority of them claiming to be mentally challenged.
She said, “We have more than 60 perceived mad persons who people claimed to be of questionable character. Some of them were truly found with incriminating objects like ammunition or even human parts. They are already in our custody while investigation continues.”
Responding to the claims that there were people still trapped underground at the site, the PPRO said there was no truth in such rumour, cautioning against spreading rumours that had negative psychological effect on the families of missing persons.
“There is no underground facility here and such claims are unfounded. How can a man live underground for more than 10 days without food and water and still be calling his relatives with mobile phone? How does he charge the phone? People should be mindful of what they say because of the psychological effect on the families of those still missing.”
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