The Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, Benue State, is to give mass burial to about 37 unclaimed corpses deposited in the hospital.
Head mortician of the hospital,? Mr. Sylvester Gendaga, who disclosed this to LEADERSHIP, said, that the cumbersome act of people depositing corpses without coming to claim them had? been a major challenge to the hospital.
Gendaga revealed that the said corpses had in the hospital since 2007, just as he noted that over 97 others had been buried in similar way in 2011.
He remarked that many of the corpses were those of patients who had? died on sick bed, while the others had been deposited by their relations, who had then refused to evacuate them because, according to them, they could not afford to pay the accumulated mortuary bills.
“At the moment, we have about 37 unclaimed corpses, but corpses are usually parked in large numbers to our mortuary, but whenever it is time to reclaim them, we do not see anyone coming,” he said.
Gendaga recalled an accident that occurred along Makurdi-Aliade road which claimed about 17 lives,? with all the dead deposited at the mortuary, but up until today?? no one has come to claim them.
He said that the management had made series of radio announcements for owners to come and claim the corpses but to no avail.
According to him, the hospital had concluded arrangements? for a mass burial “because we cannot continue keeping them and even if their family members come, we are not sure whether they can recognize them.”