The Osun State Police Command has arrested a resident of Osogbo, Rauf Mutiu, for allegedly exhuming the remains of his parents.
Mutiu was also accused of selling a house, situated at Tinumola Street, Dada Estate Area in Osogbo, which was built by his late parents.
The siblings of the suspect dragged Mutiu to the force at Dada Estate Police Station, Osogbo after neighbours alerted them that their elder brother had exhumed the bodies of their late parents and also sold off the landed property, which is their collective inheritance from their parents.
The Point gathered that the house, a fenced bungalow, was allegedly sold by Mutiu said to be a former police officer, at the rate of N16 million in connivance of his immediate younger sister.
Their parents, late Mr. Rauf and his two wives were said to have died a few years ago. The senior wife gave birth to five children of which Mutiu is the eldest, while the younger wife gave birth to two children.
Enraged that their eldest brother and sister had sold the house, the five other siblings reported the matter to the police.
It was learned that the buyer had reportedly asked Mutiu to exhume his parents’ bodies and move away from the house as a condition of purchasing the property.
Mutiu had promised to return the rents paid by tenants and asked them to vacate the building because it now belongs to another person.
One of the siblings who complained to the police, Adedoyin Rukayat, said, “It was on December 31, 2024 that I got a telephone call from our neighbours that our eldest brother and the second born conspired to sell our parents’ house and immediately, I phoned our neighbours and they asked us to calm down that they would find out from our brother.
“Even before they had met with our brother, I got another call that we should start rushing home because our brother, Rauf Mutiu, was exhuming the corpse of our parents in the premises. When we got there, we discovered that our mother’s remains had already been brought out while they were digging out our father’s grave to also exhume his body.
“I was moved to tears seeing my parents’ body lying on the ground uncovered. To avoid violence, I quickly reported the matter at Dada Estate Police Station and my brother was arrested after persuasion.”
Another sibling, Rauf Khadijat, accused one of the police officers at the station of demanding money before they could detain Mutiu, saying that the suspect was released a day after because they couldn’t tip the female police officer.
She, however, disclosed that the exhumed bodies have been re-buried while efforts were being made to prevent the new buyer from assessing the building.
Khadijat alleged that Mutiu had been threatening to attack them with charms ever since their parents died over the house.
While confirming Mutiu’s arrest, the Public Relations Officer of the state police command, Yemisi Opalola, said he was apprehended but later released on bail.
Opalola denied that the police permanently freed the suspect, saying that once investigation was over and the siblings were hell-bent on going to court, the matter would be prosecuted.
“It is true we have arrested one Mr. Rauf Mutiu concerning the exhumation of his parents’ bodies. The siblings of the suspect reported the matter to us and action was taken immediately for his arrest.
“We have released him on bail and the investigation is still on. We are aware of the insinuation that the police have freed him. No, the Police, especially Osun State Police Command is not like that. We will ensure the case goes to court if the family is not ready to settle amicably,” Opalola said.
