Southeast Human Rights Bureau seeks answers from Imo govt, police over movement of bodies from mortuaries
The Southeast Human Rights Bureau (SEHRB) is demanding urgent explanations from the Imo State Government and police authorities over reports of hundreds of unidentified bodies discovered and moved from mortuaries in the state.
In a statement, SEHRB says it is troubled by reports and video footage showing the movement of large numbers of bodies, some reportedly reduced to skeletal remains from facilities including Ngor Okpala General Hospital and Mbieri General Hospital.
The group wants the state government, police and hospital authorities to explain how the bodies ended up in the mortuaries, when and how the individuals died, and whether they were admitted as patients before death or brought in afterward.
It is also asking who authorised the bodies’ removal, where they were taken, and whether post-mortem examinations have been carried out to determine the causes of death.
SEHRB says the questions carry added weight given longstanding allegations of unlawful killings and enforced disappearances linked to security operations in parts of Imo State, though it cautions that such allegations should be neither dismissed nor assumed true without investigation.
The group is calling for an independent and impartial investigation into the origin and identity of the bodies, and wants all mortuary registers, medical and police records, death certificates, CCTV footage and other evidence preserved immediately. It insists the bodies must not be disposed of, cremated or interfered with before identification and forensic examination are completed.
SEHRB says independent forensic experts should be engaged where necessary to establish identities and causes of death, and that affected families must be promptly informed and given access to credible information.
The organisation warns that the unexplained movement of the bodies risks compromising evidence and says authorities are responsible for ensuring nothing is destroyed, concealed or altered.
“If the bodies are unrelated to any unlawful conduct, the authorities should have no difficulty providing a transparent account of their origin and movement,” the group says, adding that anyone found responsible for unlawful killings, regardless of status, must be held accountable.
SEHRB is urging the Imo State Government, the Nigeria Police Force, hospital authorities and other security agencies to give the public a credible account of the bodies and cooperate fully with an independent probe.
