The University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) has announced plans to conduct a mass burial for 270 unclaimed corpses if they are not claimed by their owners within the next six weeks. This announcement was made by Dr. Ehizogie Egbeobauwaye Adeyemi, the coordinator of mortuary services at the hospital, during an interview with newsmen in Benin City.
Dr. Adeyemi detailed that the unclaimed corpses consist of 201 infants and 69 adults. She explained that the contact information provided by the owners at the time of depositing the corpses is no longer valid or reachable.
The hospital management has issued a six-week ultimatum for the owners to claim the bodies. If the corpses remain unclaimed after this period, the hospital will proceed with a mass burial.
A statement from the hospital emphasized the urgency: “This is to inform the general public that the management of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, has concluded plans to dispose of all unclaimed corpses that have been in the hospital mortuary for a very long time.”
The statement provided specific timeframes for the unclaimed bodies, noting that infant corpses have been in the mortuary since January 2023, and adult corpses have remained unclaimed from April 2021 to December 2022.
Owners of these corpses are strongly urged to claim them within the given six weeks to avoid the mass burial procedure.
