Sequel to the discovery of an abandoned general hospital which was allegedly converted to a mortuary for kidnapped victims, the Rivers State Police Command has denied claims that it was used by criminals.
According to the police, the facility, Elele-Alimini General Hospital, has been abandoned for over 10 years.
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The acting Public Relations Officer of the command, Grace Iringe-Koko, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, who clarified this in a statement in Port Harcourt on Saturday, said the mortuary was not used by kidnappers to keep their dead victims.
Iringe-Koko noted that police investigation revealed that the mortuary was being operated by some contract staff members of the mortuary department of the hospital who were laid off by the government when the facility was closed.
She said, “Preliminary investigation revealed that a mortuary actually exists in the premises of General Hospital Elele Alimini, owned by the state government, which has , however, been abandoned and now moribund following which the staff were all laid off over 10 years ago.
“However, some mortuary attendants decided to stay back to attend to the corpses that were in the morgue to avoid an epidemic outbreak.
“Mr Okachi Wali met at the premises is a casual staff of the mortuary who is still rendering his services. Suffice to say, the morgue is not being run by a kidnap syndicate as portrayed.
“The command, therefore, calls on the good people of the state to go about their lawful duties and report any suspicious development to the authorities.”
