Abuja hospital to dispose 39 unclaimed corpses

… as patients, staff in UATH groan over offensive odour

The management of Asokoro District Hospital has announced that it would dispose 39 unclaimed corpses which have been in its custody between 2019 and 2021 if their relatives failed to show up within seven days.

This is just as the patients in the wards around Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) are calling on the management of the institution to evacuate the corpses causing offensive odour in the institution’s premises.

In a public notice sent to Daily Trust, most corpses were deposited by the officers of Nigerian Police and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

Among the corpses was that of a man identified as Offiong David Offiong, aged 70 years which was deposited on March 3, 2019.

Others include: Usman Ibrahim, Theresa Dominic, Nwokocha Chijioke, Kokole Matthew, Elendu Leonard, Okeke Prosper, Ezeala Oliver Eberechukwu, Ibrahim Mary, Ebutu Grace, Emeka Onovombonu, Abdullahi Ibrahim, Adamu Musa, Unknown Nda Adamu, Adamu Micheal, Okeke Williams, Suleiman and Mohammed Izuchukwu.

A patient at UATH, who simply identified herself as Josephine told Daily Trust that people can no longer wait at the car park close to the mortuary.

She said, “The odour here is becoming more offensive. It seems the corpses are no longer taken care of. The management should please as a matter of urgency do something to this before it boomerangs.”