The Abia State Government has said the details of the 70 corpses recovered in the forest around the Lokpanta Cattle Market, located at the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, in Umunneochi Local Government Area (LGA) of the State are with Nigeria’s security agencies especially the Nigeria Police.
Generally, the roads and communities around the Cattle Market had for years become a great security threat as it is widely known as the epicentre of kidnappings and negotiations of ransom to not just the host community and other communities in that axis of Abia State, but commuters plying the roads leading to Anambra and Imo State.
The Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, had last Sunday during the second edition of his monthly media chat in Umuahia, the State capital, disclosed that security agents uncovered 70 decomposing corpses and numerous skeletons during a raid of the forest around the cattle market.
The Governor explained that this informed the decision by his administration to convert the market from a weekly market to a daily market, to ensure the security of lives.
The leaders of the Northern community in the market however said they saw the move by the Governor as a ploy to eject them, adding that they were not aware of the discovery of the said corpses.
But speaking with our correspondent on where the corpses were taken after evacuation from the forest, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Kazie Uko, said details of the recovered corpses are with security agents, adding that they would be disclosed after the conclusion of investigations.
Uko said, “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.”
On whether the corpses would be given a mass burial or displayed for possible identification by relations, the CPS said: “By the time the security agencies finish their investigation, they will know what they want to do.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the State, Maureen Chinaka, said she would get back to our correspondent on the matter. She had, however, yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
First published in The PUNCH