The Abia State Government has revealed that the information regarding the 70 corpses discovered in the vicinity of the Lokpanta Cattle Market in the Umunneochi Local Government Area of the state has been provided to security agencies.
News About Nigeria gathered that this statement follows Governor Alex Otti’s disclosure last Sunday during his monthly media chat in Umuahia, in which he mentioned that security agents had found 70 decomposing corpses and numerous skeletons during a raid of the forest near the cattle market.
Governor Otti explained that the discovery led his administration to convert the market from a weekly market to a daily one, emphasising the importance of ensuring the safety of lives.
The northern community leaders within the market, however, expressed concerns that the move might be an attempt to remove them, noting that they were unaware of the reported discovery of the corpses.
In response to inquiries about the location of the recovered corpses after they were removed from the forest, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Kazie Uko, stated that the specifics are currently in the hands of security agencies.
He added that these details would be disclosed following the conclusion of investigations.
Uko emphasized, “What he (Otti) said was based on the report given to him by the security men. It is the security men who will tell where the corpses are. It is a security matter, and they didn’t package them to come and give to the governor. The people did their operations and they reported to the governor their findings. It is a security matter.”
The fate of the corpses, whether they will be subjected to mass burial or displayed for possible identification by family members, will be determined once the security agencies complete their investigation.Top of Form
