A mortuary attendant at Akugbe Mortuary in the Upper Sakponba area of Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State has been arrested by the police following allegations that vital organs were missing from a corpse deposited at the facility.

The incident, which occurred on Friday, reportedly sparked tension after relatives and friends of the deceased arrived at the mortuary to collect the body for burial and allegedly discovered that some organs were missing. The development led to accusations that the attendant had harvested organs from the corpse, triggering a near breakdown of law and order at the premises.

An eyewitness, Osaro Ivie, said the situation quickly became chaotic as tempers flared among family members of the deceased. “The relatives claimed that the chest cavity of the deceased had been emptied and stuffed with nylon,” Ivie said.
He added that the angry crowd threatened to lynch the mortuary attendant and set the facility on fire before police operatives intervened to restore calm.

Confirming the incident on Sunday, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Edo State Police Command, ASP Eno Ikoedem, said the command received a distress call indicating that a suspect was about to be lynched at the mortuary.

“The command received a distress call that someone at Akugbe Mortuary was about to be lynched, and the Divisional Police Officer, Ugbekun Division, was immediately mobilised to rescue a mortuary attendant alleged to have harvested organs of a corpse,” Ikoedem said.

She disclosed that the suspect was rescued from the mob and taken into custody, adding that he was currently being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID.

According to her, investigations were ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the allegation. Ikoedem assured residents that the police would conduct a thorough investigation and urged the public to remain calm and allow due process to take its course.

Meanwhile, the police spokesperson also recalled a separate case earlier reported in the state, in which a 49-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing his 15-year-old son and secretly burying the body within their family compound at Uhe Community in Igueben Local Government Area.

Ikoedem said the incident occurred on December 5, noting that the body was later exhumed for further investigation after the suspect’s mother, who is also the grandmother of the deceased, provided useful information to the police.