Map of Edo State in South South Nigeria
A mortuary attendant in Upper Sakponba, Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State, has been arrested following allegations of organ harvesting from a corpse at Akugbe Mortuary, sparking outrage among the deceased’s relatives.
According to reports gathered by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), tensions escalated when family members and friends of the deceased discovered that vital organs were missing from the body they had come to collect for burial on Friday.
Eyewitness Osaro Ivie described the scene as chaotic.
“The relatives claimed that the chest cavity of the deceased had been emptied and stuffed with nylon,” Ivie said, adding that tempers flared as accusations of ritual practices were hurled at the mortuary attendant.
“The relatives threatened to lynch the attendant and set the facility on fire before police operatives arrived to restore calm,” Ivie said.
Confirming the incident, ASP Eno Ikoedem, Public Relations Officer of the Edo State Police Command, said the command received a distress call about a mob attempting to attack 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 of Ugbekun Division was immediately mobilised to rescue the mortuary attendant alleged to have harvested organs of a corpse,” Ikoedem explained.
She added that the suspect was safely rescued and is currently in the custody of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), where investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the allegations.
ASP Ikoedem urged residents to remain calm and assured that a thorough investigation would be conducted. “We are committed to ensuring that due process is followed,” she said.
