On September 17, 2025, around 11:30 a.m., operatives from the Oyo State Police Command’s Federal Highway Patrol Unit conducted a routine stop-and-search operation at the Toll Gate axis along the Ibadan Expressway in Ibadan, Oyo State. They intercepted a white Toyota Hiace bus with registration number XA 551 IRG, which was en route from Lagos to Ibadan.During the search, one of the passengers, an Islamic cleric identified as Alfa Bashiru, was found in possession of a substance suspected to be human flesh, concealed on his person.
The exact quantity or form of the substance has not been detailed in official reports, but it was immediately seized as evidence. Upon interrogation, Bashiru confessed that he had purchased the suspected human flesh in Lagos, though further details on the source, purpose, or intended use (such as potential ritualistic activities) have not been publicly disclosed.The bus driver, whose identity remains unknown, fled the scene upon the officers’ approach, abandoning the vehicle. The police have impounded the bus and are calling on the owner to come forward with valid documents and proof of ownership by contacting the Oyo State Police Command at +234 808 176 8614. No other passengers were reported to have been involved or arrested.
The arrest was officially confirmed by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, CSP Adewale Osifeso, in a statement released on September 18, 2025, via the police’s verified X (formerly Twitter) handle. Osifeso emphasized that such stop-and-search operations are genuine security measures aimed at maintaining law and order, ensuring traveler safety, and combating criminal activities on major highways, rather than mere theatrics.Alfa Bashiru remains in police custody at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Iyaganku, Ibadan, where investigations are ongoing.
