Over 1,000 Igbo Corpses Await FG Clearance In Lagos Mortuaries – Ohanaeze

At least 1,000 corpses of Igbo people are
awaiting clearance in various morgues
across Lagos State, the President of
Ohanaeze Ndigbo in the state, Chief Fabian
Onwughalu, has said.
He blamed the development on the Federal
Government’s ban on inter-state movement
of corpses in the country following the
outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Khairu
Al-Hassan, said the ban was part of
government’s effort at curtailing the spread
of the disease in the country.
Bemoaning the plight of the deceased and
their relations, Chief Onwughalu said: “As I
am talking to you now, there are over 1000
dead bodies of Igbo people waiting at
various morgues only here in Lagos State for
movement to their homeland.
“The ugly development has serious effect on
the families of the deceased because in Igbo
land, we believe that the moment a late
family member is buried, the pains of losing
him will gradually fade away. But in a
situation where you keep the body of a
deceased family member unnecessarily, the
pains will be increasing.
“The Federal Government should rescind the
decision or decentralise the authority”.
Asked what the body was doing to address
the issue, he said: “At the highest level, we
believe there are consultations going on. But
we are worried that it is taking too long to
yield fruits”.
He added that the sole authority vested in
the Minister of Health to give clearance to
bereaved families before they can take the
corpses of their loved ones home for burial is
fraught with bottlenecks that cause untold
hardship for the people. He also described
the process as a violation of the Igbo
culture.
To enable bereaved families take the corpses
of their members home for burial, he advised
that “the Federal Government should
authorise other government health officers
and doctors to issue certificates to bereaved
families to enable them carry the remains of
their deceased ones home for burial.
“If the authority to issue certificate is
decentralised such that federal health centres
and teaching hospitals would be able to
attend to bereaved families and give them
certificates within a short time, it will enable
our people to convey the remains of their
beloved ones to their ancestral homes in line
with the traditions of their people”.