A grave digger found in possession of a human skull without court authorisation has been sentenced to eight years in prison by the Dansoman Circuit Court.
Abdul Razak Mohammed, a 49-year-old grave digger at Awudome Cemetery, reportedly sold the skull to Alex Frimpong for GH₵600, allegedly to help Frimpong secure more contracts in his masonry work.
Frimpong, 24, also faced a sentence of five years in prison. Both Mohammed and Frimpong pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful use of human parts.
The court convicted them based on their guilty pleas and handed down the respective sentences.
Nana Attah, a fetish priest believed to have ordered the skull, also pleaded not guilty after his arrest and arraignment.
The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Christopher Wonder, explained that Frimpong resides in Pokuase, while he works as a grave digger at Awudome Cemetery.
A few months ago, Frimpong became friends with Nana Attah on Facebook, where Attah introduced himself as a fetish priest.
Frimpong, struggling with a lack of contracts in his masonry work, sought spiritual help from Attah.
According to the prosecution, during a visit to Attah’s shrine in Winneba, Frimpong was told that a human skull was needed for rituals to improve his fortune.
On October 25, 2024, at around 2230 hours, Frimpong met with Mohammed at Awudome Cemetery to arrange the acquisition of a human skull.
Mohammed agreed to provide the skull in exchange for GH₵600, with the payment to be made via mobile money, and the skull handed over to Frimpong.
Later that afternoon, at around 1400 hours, a police patrol team, Bravo Checker 3, led by General Lance Corporal Eric Dedzo, stopped Frimpong as he was riding an unregistered motorcycle near Odorgonno Secondary School.
During a search, a human skull wrapped in a black plastic bag was found in Frimpong’s backpack, leading to his arrest.
Frimpong later implicated Mohammed as his supplier, and Mohammed was subsequently arrested.
The human skull was preserved at the police mortuary for further investigation.
As the investigation progressed, police arrested Nana Attah, who has since been charged and arraigned in court.