PUNCH
James Omirenya, son of an Ogun State-based farmer from Benue State, tells EMMANUEL OJO, about the pains the family is passing through over the disappearance of the corpse of their father, Joel Omirenya, at the Sacred Heart Hospital’s mortuary in Abeokuta
Can you recall the events that led to the disappearance of your dad’s corpse at the mortuary?
My father died in a private hospital owned by a Catholic Church in Abeokuta. When he died, they took him to the hospital morgue. He was supposed to be there till April 2; the time we planned to pick him up. I went there to check his corpse on March 10, and I saw his body there. I called a mortician by the name Olaade John, who is the senior mortician on that March 10 to inform him that on April 3, which was a Monday, we would be taking the corpse home, and he told me that he won’t be around. I pleaded that he needed to make the corpse ready for pickup on Sunday because where we would be taking the corpse to is far. I told him we were going to Benue State which is our hometown.
After our discussion, he said I would pay his bill for that day, and that he would come around. So, I said no problem; any amount, I would pay. He then said that I should call him around 12 noon on Sunday, so that we would talk on how the movement would be. On Saturday, which was April 1, I called to remind him again, he said no problem and that he had didn’t forget. On Sunday, which was April 2, I booked for an ambulance and did every necessary arrangement. Everything was set and the wake keep was ongoing. My uncle and I left for the hospital to pick up the corpse so that they could dress the corpse; we took every necessary thing to the place.
On getting there, I went in to see my dad’s corpse so that we could prepare for his last journey on earth. We went in and moved towards the place where my dad’s corpse was placed but we couldn’t find him again. I was surprised and I asked what happened, but he said he (my dad) had possibly been relocated from there to another position. He showed another person to me; I was angry, and I said, ‘that can’t be my father.’ At that moment, he was confused. I had to ask him what happened, if there was any mix-up, but he didn’t know and he said he couldn’t explain.
My uncle and I that went there were alarmed and I had to look for him (dad) myself. The morgue is not so big; so, we searched all through. I had to even call another uncle and I broke the news to him that we couldn’t find our dad’s corpse again. Despite the fact that his (my uncle) residence is a little bit far from Abeokuta, he came, and we were with the mortuary attendant.
What did you do at that point when it dawned on you that your dad’s corpse was nowhere to be found?
