DEAD BODY OF SENIOR ADVOCATE OF NIG STOLEN IN ENUGU

The corpse of Chief Theodore Ezeobi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who died about four months ago, was yester¬day morning stolen from the mortuary of Mother of Christ Specialist Hospital in Enugu. Before the sudden disap¬pearance of the corpse, the family of the deceased had been having a running battle over his burial that pitted the first son, Theodore (Jnr), against his mother and other siblings. A burial announcement, which was published in the newspapers, fixing the burial for July 31, was quickly dis¬owned by another advertorial signed by daughter to the de¬ceased, Chinelo Ezeobi, who advised well-wishers and the public to disregard the publi¬cation as the correct informa¬tion for the burial would be made public at the right time Chinelo, who spoke to Daily Sun on phone, said they were shocked to learn yesterday morning that their father’s corpse had been re¬moved from the mortuary. She said unknown persons broke into the mortuary and took away the corpse. She also confirmed that the family had been having issues with the first son over the burial. Following the develop¬ment, the police in Enugu had invited the hospital mor¬tician, some security men from the hospital and some top management staff for questioning. A close hospital source al¬leged that the mortician had gone to the mortuary to de¬posit another corpse shortly after midnight when he dis¬covered that the mortuary had been burgled. Sensing trouble, he searched and discovered that one of the corpses in his care had been removed. Consequently, he raise the alarm and at the same time informed the bereaved family of the development. The source also disclosed that there was a standing or¬der that nobody should be al¬lowed to see the corpse apart from few identified members of the immediate family. A letter was also made available to Daily Sun, in which the hospital through its counsel, Chief Charles Ogbo, in reply to a letter from one of the sons of the deceased demanding the release of Chief Ezeobi’s corpse to him, stated that it was not the prac¬tice of the hospital to release a corpse to persons who did not deposit it in their mortuary. The letter read in part: “Our clients will release the corpse to your mother who deposited same, you have the option of coming in com¬pany of your mother and on production of the receipt, our clients will release the corpse to you if she consents. “Your late father was brought to Mother of Christ Specialist Hospital in Enugu on January 20, 14 by your mother, Iyom Bernadette Ezeobi, who stayed with him until his death on March 28, 14. Your mother deposited his corpse in our clients’ mor¬tuary and was issued with a receipt. “You never showed up in hospital for the whole period your late father was hospital¬ised. On April 25, 14 (almost one month after his death), you went to our clients de¬manding to see his corpse and they rightly refused on grounds that you did not de¬posit the corpse.” Efforts to reach the first son of Chief Theodore Eze¬obi, Theodore Junior, failed as at the time of this report as his mobile phones were not reachable. Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Rela¬tions Officer (PPRO), Eb¬ere Amaraizu, said the police were trying to unravel the mystery behind the missing corpse. When Daily Sun visited the Central Police Station in Enugu, the mortician, who was in handcuff and some management staff of the hospital were seen in the station.

Trouble in Anambra: Suspected Ebola corpse flown in from Liberia, Morgue sealed off, staffs quarantined

The Anambra State ministry of health has announced that there are fears in the state that the dreaded Ebola disease may have sneaked into the state through a corpse deposited in Apex Mortuary, Nkwelle Ezunaka, Oyi LGA at the weekend. Anambra State Health commissioner, Joe Akabuike who briefed journalists yesterday said that the development in Anambra is an urgent one, and that the state government, the ministry of health in the state and the federal ministry of health are handling it with the urgency required. “Why we called you(Journalists) here is because of the dreaded Ebola disease. In the suspected case that happened in Lagos recently, the victim is already gone, and all those who had contact with him have been tested, and they tested negative. “Here in Anambra, the urgency I told you is that we have the case of a corpse that was brought in from Lagos at the weekend. The deceased was said to have taken ill in Liberia where the virus is known to have already existed, where he died and was deposited in a mortuary. “We have identified the mortuary where the corpse was deposited, and we have alerted the federal ministry to come in and carry out a test, we have sealed off the mortuary, and everyone who is working there we have ordered that they be quarantined. “As I speak with you, experts from the federal ministry of health are on their way to Anambra, what we will do is that those people that are quarantined will be screened, and we want to assure Anambra people that we shall be proactive to ensure that the virus does not spread. “We have also procured the necessary garment for the disease check, and we are training our health workers on how to deal with this because it is new here. We had to invite the federal mistry of health because the equipment for the check are very expensive. “We are not saying that this corpse has Ebola virus, but the deceased was brought in from Liberia, and deposited in the state, so we have to raise eyebrow about it, so all we are doing is to take precaution,” the health commissioner said. Akabuike disclosed that the disease is a big threat because the doctors and nurses and relatives of a patient who may touch the ill person are liable to contact it, and that when doctors begin to die in droves, it spells doom for a country. He advised that people must form a habit of washing their hands not only when they want to eat, but after shaking hands or touching surfaces. Akabuike expressed shock that a corpse could be flown from another country to Nigeria, without being intercepted at the airport for a check. He also disclosed that the state has secured a quarantine site that will help the ministry to seclude suspects from the people until they are checked.