The Ondo State Government has carried out a mass burial for no fewer than 496 unclaimed corpses in health facilities in the state.
It was gathered that the move was geared towards decongesting the morgues at the Akure and Ondo complexes of the State University of Medical Science Teaching Hospital, UNIMEDTH.
According to Bisi Lawani, Head, Press Unit and Public Relations, Ministry of Health in the state, the mass burial was a follow up to an assessment tour of morgues in the two hospitals.
While briefing newsmen on the development, the Special Adviser to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on Health, Prof. Dayo Faduyile, expressed dismay over the gory state of the morgues which were jam-packed with unclaimed bodies spanning a year and above.
Faduyile emphasized that the development led him to strongly encourage Akeredolu, SAN to decongest and renovate the morgues immediately, which he claimed had turned into an eyesore.
Faduyile added that the governor did not think twice about approving the letter to carry out the suggested mass burial activities in order to prevent outbreak of epidemic diseases in the state.
As a professional pathologist, Faduyile asserted that his office adhered to all legal requirements by setting up the essential equipment for effective and hitch-free mass burial procedures.
These, according to him, include getting a mass burial permit from the Chief Magistrate Court of Justice in Oke-Eda, Akure; securing a piece of land for the mass burial at Odigbo Local Government from the State Ministry of Lands and Housing, publicizing the mass burial in print and electronic media; and giving unclaimed bodies a 21-day window to be reclaimed in accordance with laws of the land.
“The bodies were buried in a deep grave of 10 by 10 feet wide, and 18 feet depth, at the allocated land by the State government.”