Monday, December 15, 2025 - The Edo State Police Command has arrested a mortuary attendant in the Upper Sakponba area of Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of the state following allegations of missing vital organs from a corpse kept at Akugbe Mortuary.
The incident, the News Agency of Nigeria learnt, triggered a
violent reaction from relatives of the deceased.
The situation reportedly escalated when angry family members
and friends accused the mortuary attendant of harvesting organs from the body.
Relatives of the deceased were said to have raised the alarm
when they arrived at the mortuary on Friday to collect the body for burial and
allegedly discovered that some vital organs were missing.
An eyewitness, Osaro Ivie, described the scene as chaotic,
saying tempers flared after family members accused the attendant of engaging in
ritual practices.
"The relatives claimed that the chest cavity of the
deceased had been emptied and stuffed with nylon,” Ivie said.
He said the relatives threatened to lynch the attendant and
set the facility ablaze before police operatives intervened to restore
calm.
The spokesperson of the command, ASP Eno Ikoedem, who
confirmed the incident on Sunday said the command received a distress call that
a mob was on the verge of attacking a suspect at the mortuary.
"The command received a distress call that someone at
Akugbe Mortuary was about to be lynched, and the Divisional Police Officer,
Ugbekun Division, was immediately mobilised to rescue a mortuary attendant
alleged to have harvested organs of a corpse,” Ikoedem said.
Ikoedem explained that the suspect was rescued from the
crowd and subsequently taken into custody.
She added that the suspect was currently being detained at
the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), where investigations were
ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the allegation.
Ikoedem assured the public that a thorough investigation
would be conducted, urging residents to remain calm and allow due process to
take its course.
0 Comments