By Tony Adibe
The Kogi State Government on Saturday buried 130 unclaimed corpses. It was learnt that the deceased persons are victims of accidents, robbery and kidnapping who have been deposited at the Federal Medical Centers, Lokoja for several months without families or relations claiming their remains.
The dead bodies were buried at the Felele Cemetery in Lokoja, Kogi State.
The General Manager, Kogi State Sanitation and Waste Management Board, Mrs Arokoyo Elizabeth, who spoke during the mass burial of the victims, said the agency is backed by law to ensure the environment is safe for habitation stressing that, the dead bodies have stayed too long in the hospital.
Represented by the Acting Secretary of the Board, Sanitarian Ajayi Olufemi, she said the dead bodies were brought to the mortuary by the Nigeria Police Force and Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC).
She said that many announcements had been made via various media organizations for the bodies to be claimed by family members or relations, but all proved abortive. Arokoye restated the state government’s commitment to ensuring the environment is safe for people to leave.
She said: “All the people evacuating and burying these bodies have been sanitized. 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 the bodies are victims of accidents, kidnapping or robbery which were brought by the Police and Road Safety. So, they have to be buried because they have been in the mortuary for a long time without anybody coming for them.”
