Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has directed the management of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH), Amaku, to take immediate action to dispose of all abandoned corpses in the hospital.
The directive specifies that a mass burial for all abandoned corpses in the hospital’s morgue between 2014 and 2023 must be carried out in July 2024.
The hospital, through its Public Relations Officer, Henrietta Agbai, issued a statement over the weekend, quoting the Chief Medical Director of COOUTH, Josephat Akabuike, and the Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, Dr. Emmanuel Mba.
Over the years, COOUTH has reportedly become a repository for unclaimed bodies, particularly those resulting from health emergencies within and around the state capital, including road accidents and gunshot injuries.
The statement reads: “His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has authorized the disposal of abandoned corpses at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, COOUTH Amaku-Awka.
“To this effect, the management wishes to notify the general public that COOUTH Amaku-Awka plans to conduct mass burials of abandoned corpses in its mortuary from 2014 to December 2023.”
Agbai also urged individuals whose relatives have been missing to visit the hospital’s mortuary within one month of the announcement for possible identification and collection of such corpses.
