The Rivers State Police Command says the morgue in the premises of the general hospital at Elele-Alimini in Emohua Local Governement Area, is not being run by a kidnap syndicate.
The command made the clarification in reaction to a viral video of the mortuary purportedly being used by a kidnap syndicate for the preservation of victims who died in their custody.
A statement by the Ag. Police Public Relations Officer of the command,DSP Gace Iringe-Koko, stated that there was no truth in the story as portrayed.
It 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 ten 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”, the statement noted.
It called on the people of the State to go about their lawful duties and report any suspicious development to the authorities.
Recall the Chairman of Emuohua Local Government Area, Dr. Chidi Lloyd had in a video on Wednesday said the council located an illegal mortuary inside the general hospital, where kidnap victims who died in the custody of their abductors were usually deposited.