20 mummified bodies found in building in Nigeria

Police in Nigeria have discovered 20 mummified bodies, including those of children, in a building in Benin City, in a case that shocked the country.

Three people were arrested during the raid in southern Nigeria, Jennifer Iwegbu, a police spokeswoman said late Wednesday. Armed police officers raided the building in Benin City, the capital of Edo state, acting on intelligence that it was a suspected ritual shrine she said.

Fifteen mummified male corpses, three mummified female corpses and two mummified children corpses were discovered at the scene, just three miles 5 km from the city centre, said Iwegbu.

Nigeria's security forces have uncovered such shrines used by ritualists and kidnappers in the past, but the latest discovery is one of the most shocking in recent years considering the number of victims.

Many residents arrived at the building expressing horror over what appeared to have been an operation hidden from the eyes of even nearby neighbours.

It is not immediately clear how long the bodies had been in the building and the suspects were being interrogated, the police said. All three were young men, and a police medical team was part of the investigation, Iwegbu said.

She said an intensive effort is underway to arrest the other fleeing suspects.