Burial of 13 Benue Attack Victims Cancelled as Mortician Goes Missing

By Rachel Akper

The planned burial of 13 victims killed in a recent attack in Benue State was abruptly cancelled after the mortician responsible for releasing the bodies reportedly went missing.

The victims were among those killed during an attack on the Turan community in Jato-Aka, Kwande Local Government Area of the state. Families and community members had fixed Thursday for a mass burial and gathered at Mbachom community to pay their last respects.

However, the ceremony could not proceed after relatives discovered that the mortician in charge of releasing the corpses from the mortuary was not available.

A relative of one of the victims, Bemgba Numve, said the families arrived at the mortuary to collect the bodies only to discover that the mortician was absent and the corpses could not be released.

According to him, sympathisers and mourners had already gathered in the community, including people who travelled from outside the area, before they received the news that the bodies would not be released.

The development forced the families to suspend the burial arrangements and postpone the ceremony until further notice.

Some community members expressed frustration over the incident, suspecting that certain individuals might be attempting to prevent them from giving their relatives a proper burial.

The families said a new date for the burial would be announced later.