The Edo Police Command has stated that the building where mummified bodies were discovered cannot be used as a morgue because the main suspect, Gabriel Otu, does not have the necessary permits to operate one, and that a severed body discovered at the facility demonstrated that there was more going on than was claimed.
At a press conference on Monday, the officer in charge of the State Criminal Investigative Department, Olawore Oluwole, said in the course of investigation, there were interface with medical personnel, lawyers, members of the public, representatives of the Benin Traditional Council, families of those who deposited corpses as well as pathologist.
Oluwole said, “The principal suspect didn’t acquire formal training but only worked at different mortuaries as a mortuary attendant. He doesn’t have the certificate to practise as a mortician or any certification from the traditional board, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environment or any other appropriate certification.
“The building utilised by him was not certified nor approved by the Ministry of Health or Environment. Other facts revealed that the mortuary is not a layout for trado-medical institution.”
While giving details of items recovered from the building, Oluwole said, “23 corpses, including a dismembered one without a skull, were found and it depicts an unlawful possession and violates section 329 of the Criminal Code.
“There were also sacrilegious effigies found at the scene; some were inside while others were outside.”