The mortuary at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Amaku-Awka, Anambra State, has reportedly been filled up.
The institution announced that it would start evacuating, disposing of, and mass-burying the bodies of people who had been left at its facility unclaimed since 2014.
In a statement seen by our correspondent on Monday, the hospital’s public relations officer, Henrietta Agbai, revealed this and added that the exercise would start in July 2024.
The hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Dr. Josephat Akabuike, and the Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, Dr. Emmanuel Mba, released the three-paragraph statement together.
Agbai said the decision followed the approval granted for the action by the state government.
She said, “His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has approved the disposal of abandoned corpses at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Coouth Amaku-Awka.
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“To this end, the management wishes to inform the general public that COOUTH Amaku-Awka intends to conduct mass burials of the abandoned corpses in its mortuary from 2014 to December 2023.
“Therefore, those whose relatives are missing should visit the hospital’s mortuary for possible identification and collection of such corpses within one month of this publication.”
Situated in the heart of Awka, the COOUTH is typically the first medical facility to be contacted in the event of an emergency in the state, particularly in the event of a traffic accident, gunshot wounds, or other life-threatening circumstances.
It was discovered that the majority of these medical emergencies’ victims do not survive, and the bodies are typically taken to the hospital’s mortuary.
Since the development in 2014, the hospital’s mortuary has been overflowing with bodies, the majority of which are unidentified.
