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Police recover skulls, bones of 28 people in Nigeria
Published : Tuesday, 29 September, 2026 at 10:34 AM
Observer Online Report
Police have recovered the skulls and bones of at least 28 people from two forests in Nigeria, where suspected criminal hideouts were allegedly located. The remains are believed to belong to people who may have been victims of kidnapping.
The police have launched an investigation to determine the identities of the victims and how they died.
According to the BBC, the remains were recovered last Saturday from the Umuaku and Niyato forests in southeastern Nigeria’s Abia State. The discovery came after security forces carried out an operation in the Umunneochi area.
Police spokesperson Maureen Chinaka said the suspected criminals fled before police arrived at the location.
The discovery has raised fresh concerns over kidnapping gangs operating in remote forests across southeastern Nigeria. Criminal groups in these areas frequently abduct drivers, passengers and local residents for ransom.
Abia State police said the operation was conducted based on intelligence about criminal activities in the forests. Investigators suspect that the recovered remains may belong to kidnapping victims. However, forensic and other investigations are underway to confirm their identities and determine the cause of death.
In a statement, Chinaka said police special operations teams reached the criminals’ hideouts, prompting the suspects to flee. The hideouts were later destroyed, and the skulls and bones of 28 people suspected to have been kidnapping victims were recovered.
Police said surveillance in the area has been intensified to apprehend the suspects who fled.
Abia State Police Commissioner Wilfred Afolabi said the operation was part of an ongoing campaign to dismantle criminal hideouts across the state.
Police are also investigating whether the remains are connected to unresolved kidnapping cases in the region. Authorities have urged local residents to report any suspicious activities or security-related information to the police.
Earlier, security forces had recovered a decomposed body suspected to be linked to a kidnapping case during an operation in Umunneochi.
Kidnapping for ransom has become a major source of income for criminal groups in parts of Nigeria, particularly in the north. These groups include armed bandits and religious extremist organisations.
-MT
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296
