The Edo State Police Command has launched a thorough investigation into the alleged discovery of a ritual den along Ekenwan Road in Benin City. The Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Investigations, Olawore Oluwole, disclosed that the main suspect, Gabriel Chukwu Otu, who operated a morgue at the site, was not a licensed mortician.
Oluwole made this known at a press briefing jointly organised by the Edo State Government and the State Police Command, to update the public on the progress of the investigation. He said the police had arrested and questioned 10 suspects in connection with the case.
He explained that the police had consulted with various stakeholders, including medical experts, lawyers, traditional leaders, relatives of the deceased, and pathologists, to ascertain the facts of the matter. He said the evidence suggested that the case involved ritual practices.
He said: “The main suspect, Gabriel Chukwu Otu, is in police custody and has confessed. He admitted that he had no formal training or certification to work as a mortician. He only learned the trade from working at different mortuaries as an attendant.
“He also had no approval from the relevant authorities, such as the traditional board, the health ministry, or the environment ministry, to operate a morgue. The building he used was not certified by any of these agencies.”
Oluwole added: “During our investigation, we discovered two other suspects, Yusuf Lawal and Victor Obeche, who were scavengers and a passerby. We also found 23 mummified bodies and one dismembered body without a skull, which indicate illegal possession.
“One person claimed that his mother was among the mummified bodies, while another said his mother and child went missing in February this year, and wanted to identify the corpses.
“We did not find any fresh corpse at the site, but we found some shrines with the dismembered body, which imply a ritual message.”
Oluwole appealed to the residents of Edo State to remain calm and assured them that the police would get to the bottom of the case.
The Edo State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Obehi Akoria, also spoke at the briefing. She said: “The Edo State Ministry of Health is calling on all owners and operators of mortuaries and embalmment homes in the state to come to the Directorate of Regulation and Monitoring at the Ministry of Health with proof of registration by 30th of September, 2022, if they are registered.
“For those who are not registered, they have until the end of business on the 9th of September, 2022, to come to the Ministry and obtain the basic requirements for running mortuaries and embalmment homes in the state.”
