by Nurat Uthman
The Kwara State Government has sealed an Omosebi Mortuary, an illegal morgue, declaring that its activities pose serious health hazards to the community and the people.
The address of the morgue is in Gaa – Akanbi, Pipeline junction, Ilorin South Local Government Area.
Afrika Eyes earlier reported an incident involving the death of Yusuf Mubarak, a 27-year-old student at Nasarawa State University, Lafia, in September 2023. His body was said to have been dumped at the Omosebi Mortuary without receiving proper care.
Dr Amina Ahmed El-Imam, the state health commissioner, Dr Abubakar Ayinla, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, and Dr Musiluyu Odunaiya, the Director of Medical Service and Training, sealed the morgue on Thursday, February 15, 2024.
El-Imam said the state government took steps to prevent other public members from engaging in such acts of illegality. She added that the government did not approve the sealed morgue.
El-Imam said, “We were here last year, October 9, 2023, and when we came and sealed the premises, we saw for ourselves that they have an utter disregard for human dignity, the risk to life, and public health that this place poses to our people in Kwara State.”
She said, “We received reports of illegal activities concerning the handling of remains of residents of Kwara State, and we promptly took action.
“We came here and verified it for ourselves, and it is not a licensed mortuary. They have no permission or right to be handling the remains of our citizens.
“We immediately sealed the premises and called them for a discussion. While we were still working out the way to proceed, they apparently came and removed the government seal, which itself was an offence; they continued their activities, which was unfortunate.”
She added, “We received information indicating that they have resumed operations illegally. We are here today to implement extensive, multifaceted approaches to ensure that this kind of illegality does not persist, not only in this facility but throughout the state.”
El-Imam said “quackery or undignified handling of people’s remains” would not be condoned by the state government.
Meanwhile, a source who pleaded anonymity told Afrika Eyes that the Chief Executive Officer of Almaroof Standard Investment, Oloba Maroof Adebayo Afolayan, who was allegedly involved in the killing of his friend Mustapha Balogun for ritual, also dumped the deceased’s body at Omosebi Mortuary.
The source revealed, “Many powerful people, including some security operatives, are secretly using that mortuary as a dumping site whenever they kill their victims. It is business as usual.”
He said they could be using the morgue for organ harvesting and urged the government to investigate and arrest the perpetrators.
Another source from the Ministry of Health said when the mortuary was sealed in 2023, many stakeholders, including a professor, asked that it should be opened for operation.
The source added that the owner of the “illegal morgue went behind, opened it, and commenced his illegal business”.
