Police arrest mortuary attendant over alleged organ harvesting

The police in Edo State have arrested a mortuary attendant in the Upper Sakponba area of Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of the state over allegations of missing vital organs from a corpse kept at the Akugbe Mortuary.

The alleged missing parts in the corpse 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.

The relatives of the deceased were said to have raised an alarm when they arrived at the mortuary on Friday to collect the body for burial and allegedly discovered that some vital organs were missing.

A witness, Osaro Ivie, described the scene as chaotic, saying that family members angrily accused the attendant of engaging in ritual practices.

“The relatives claimed that the chest cavity of the deceased had been emptied and then stuffed with nylon,” Mr Ivie said.

He said the relatives threatened to lynch the attendant and set the facility ablaze. Police operatives later arrived and restored calm at the facility.

Confirming the incident on Sunday, Eno Ikoedem, the police spokesperson in Edo, stated that police operatives responded to a distress call.

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“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,” Ms Ikoedem, an assistant superintendent of police, said.

Ms Ikoedem explained that the suspect was rescued from the crowd and subsequently taken into custody.

She added that he was currently being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), where investigations were ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the allegation.

Ms Ikoedem assured the public that a thorough investigation would be conducted, urging residents to remain calm and allow due process to take its course.

(NAN)