130 Unclaimed Corpses of Accident Victims Buried in Kogi

Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja

No fewer than 130 corpses of the accident victims and others left unclaimed by their families have been buried in Lokoja by the Kogi State Sanitation and Waste Management Board (KSSWMB) on Saturday.

It was gathered that the deceased persons were victims of accident, robbers and kidnappers who have been deposited at the Federal Medical Centers, Lokoja for several months without families or relations claiming their corpses.

The dead bodies were committed to mother earth at Felele Cementry Lokoja, Kogi State, in accordance with the law.

While speaking during the mass burial of the corpses, the General Manager Kogi of KSSWMB, Mrs. Arokoyo Elizabeth, said the board is backed by law to ensure the environment is safe for habitation, stressing that the dead bodies have stayed too long in the hospital.

Arokoyo, who was represented by the Acting Secretary of the KSSWMB, Sanitarian Ajayi Olufemi, said that the dead bodies were brought to the mortuary by the Nigerian Police Force and Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC).

She explained that several announcements had been made via various media organisations for the bodies to be claimed by family members or relations, but all proved abortive.

She reiterated that the state government’s commitment to ensure that the environment is safe for people to live.

“All the people evacuating and burying these bodies have been sanitised. Just like I said earlier, we have made several announcements on radio, television and other media about these unclaimed bodies. But, as I speak to you, nothing was heard from family members, relations, and friends of these corpses.

“Most of these corpses are victims of accident, kidnapers, robbers which were brought by the police and road safety’s personnel. So they have to be buried because they have been in the mortuary for a long time without any body coming for them,” she added.