No space in mortuary as corpses brought by soldiers decomposing – UNIMAID

Staff of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) have said that the corpses of soldiers, NNPC staff and Civilian JTF members killed by Islamist Boko Haram terrorists during an ambush in Magumeri local government area of Borno state are currently decomposing at the hospital’s mortuary, unattended to, because there is no more space for the bodies.

A senior official of the hospital who spoke on anonymity to The Cable, said staff are worried because the bodies are smelling and could lead to the outbreak of an epidemic.

The source also said that 35 bodies were currently being unattended to while the hospital has released a corpse of a JTF member identified by its relatives so as to free up space in the mortuary. “As I am talking to you now, about 35 corpses are lying down here in the mortuary, without any reservation,” he said. “The victims include 12 soldiers, five university lecturers, 13 civilian JTF from Magumeri, two NNPC staff and some that were brought yesterday by the military.

“Even the corpse of Dr J.V Militus, the senior lecturer at UNIMAID, is rotting away, with no one to claim it. The whole hospital is smelling. Everyone is worried… we are scared of an outbreak of disease.” Meanwhile, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Maiduguri( UNIMAID)chapter, said five staff of the university were killed by Boko Haram insurgents, after they were purportedly kidnapped. Dr Danny Mamman, the Chairman of the association told newsmen in Maiduguri that four lecturers were still missing. The insurgents on Tuesday attacked a team of geologists who were on an oil exploration exercise in Lake Chad basin.

The team comprised staff of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), geologists, members of Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and military personnel.However, the Nigerian Army, in a statement on Wednesday, said it had rescued all the victims. Brig Gen Sani Kukasheka Usman, the Director, Army Public Relations, said that nine soldiers and one civilian were killed in the attack. He added that the soldiers had recovered all the corpses in the rescue operation.