Police in Abia State say they recovered 28 human skulls and other bones after security operatives dismantled suspected criminal camps in forests around Umuaku and Nneato in Isuochi.
The Abia State Police Command said the operation was carried out by personnel drawn from several tactical and investigative units after intelligence about suspected criminal activity in the area.
Police said occupants of the camps fled when security personnel entered the forest.
During the operation, officers recovered what the command described as 28 human skulls and other human bones.
Police suspect kidnapping link
The command said the remains are suspected to belong to kidnapping victims.
That has not been independently established.
No forensic identification or cause-of-death finding has been publicly disclosed in the material reviewed by IDNN.
The available record also does not establish how many individuals the remains represent or when the deaths occurred.
That distinction is critical.
A police suspicion about the origin of human remains is not the same as forensic identification or a confirmed homicide finding.
Investigation continues
Abia Commissioner of Police Wilfred Afolabi said the investigation is ongoing and that efforts have been intensified to apprehend suspects who fled the camps.
Police have not publicly identified any person as responsible for the deaths represented by the recovered remains.
They have also not announced arrests directly linked to the forest recovery.
The command has asked residents to provide information about suspicious activity as investigations continue.
Forensic questions now become central
The discovery shifts the investigation beyond the clearing of suspected camps.
Authorities now need to establish how many people the remains represent, their identities where possible, the likely causes and dates of death, and whether any can be linked to outstanding missing-person or kidnapping cases.
Those findings will matter for families searching for missing relatives.
They will also determine whether police suspicions about a kidnapping connection are supported by forensic evidence.
Until those examinations are completed, the strongest established public account is limited: Abia Police say 28 human skulls and other bones were recovered from suspected criminal camps in the Umuaku and Nneato forest areas, while the identities of the dead and the circumstances of their deaths remain unknown.