A High Court in Gombe has sentenced five men to various prison terms for exhuming a corpse and removing its eyes for alleged ritual purposes.
The judgment was delivered on Friday, March 13, 2026, by Justice Abdulsalam Mohammed of Gombe State High Court No. 8 after the defendants pleaded guilty to some of the charges against them.
The convicted men are Mohammed Isah, also known as Chindo; Kawuni Sarki; Manu Saleh; Umar Jibrin, also known as Daddy; and Adamu Nasiru, all residents of Gadam village in Kwami Local Government Area of Gombe State. A sixth defendant, Abdullahi Umar Dauda, was also arraigned in connection with the case.
State counsel Ahmed Yakubu Gombe, who led the prosecution, told the court that the defendants were facing a 10-count charge that included criminal conspiracy, attempted offence, causing indignity to a corpse, unlawful entry into a graveyard, theft, destruction of public property, membership of an unlawful society, use of unlawful charms, and unlawful possession of a human head.
According to the prosecutor, the offences were committed on September 11, 2025, at the Gadam Muslim graveyard in Kwami Local Government Area.
Yakubu said the defendants conspired with two other suspects, Aliyu Baka and Reuben, who are currently at large, to exhume the grave of a deceased man identified as Malam Manu Wanzam.
“They jointly exhumed the grave of the late Malam Manu Wanzam, unwrapped the burial shroud and brought out the fresh corpse. The defendants then removed the two eyes from the corpse,” the prosecutor told the court.
He added that one of the suspects who is still at large fled the scene with the eyes, allegedly for ritual purposes.
“The accused persons unlawfully entered the Muslim graveyard at night, exhumed the corpse and removed the eyes of the deceased for ritual purposes, thereby causing indignity to the corpse and the grave,” Yakubu said.
The prosecutor further revealed that the defendants also attempted to exhume another grave in the same cemetery on the same day.
He noted that the offences are punishable under Sections 96, 95, 218, 213, 286, 335, 306, 97A, 97B, 216 and 219 of the Penal Code Law.
During the proceedings, the defendants pleaded guilty to some of the charges after the court interpreter explained the charges to them.
Following their plea, the prosecution urged the court to summarily try them on the counts to which they admitted guilt, citing Sections 335(2) and 355(2) of the Gombe State Administration of Criminal Justice Law.
In his judgment, Justice Abdulsalam Mohammed convicted and sentenced the defendants accordingly.
The court sentenced Mohammed Isah (Chindo), Kawuni Sarki, Manu Saleh, Umar Jibrin (Daddy), and Adamu Nasiru to six months’ imprisonment under Section 218 of the Penal Code. They were also handed an additional one-year prison term each on other counts.
On the charge of theft, Mohammed Isah, Kawuni Sarki and Adamu Nasiru were each sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
Justice Mohammed ordered that the sentences run consecutively.
As a result, Mohammed Isah was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment; Manu Saleh to two years and six months; Umar Jibrin to two years and six months; and Adamu Nasiru to four years and six months.
“Having pleaded guilty to some of the charges, the defendants are hereby convicted and sentenced as stated by the court,” the judge ruled.
The court also directed that the trial would continue on the remaining counts against the defendants and adjourned the case to April 16, 2026, for further hearing.
