UBTH to Conduct Mass Burial of 462 Unclaimed Corpses

The University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) has raised concerns regarding the large number of unclaimed corpses in its mortuary, totaling 462 as of January 2023. Adebola Ehizel, the Deputy Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, disclosed this information during a broadcast on a local radio station in Benin City.

The hospital has given relatives a six-week deadline to claim the bodies, which include approximately 350 children. If the bodies remain unclaimed after this period, UBTH will proceed with a mass burial, as stated in a release issued by the hospital in February.

The decision aims to clear the mortuary of bodies that have been unclaimed for an extended period. The hospital emphasized that it can no longer accommodate the unclaimed corpses and urged responsible individuals to come forward to claim them to avoid the disposal of the bodies through an approved method.