2 arrested over theft of casket in Akwa Ibom

Uyo – The Akwa Ibom Police Command has arrested two suspects over the unlawful exhumation of a corpse and the theft of a casket at Mbiokporo cemetery in Uyo.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Timfon John, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday in Uyo.

John said that the command received a distress call at about 11:30 p.m. on Monday from a vigilant resident who reported suspicious activities at the cemetery.

She said that the caller reported observing two men transporting a casket on an unregistered motorcycle under the cover of darkness.

The caller, John said, then confronted the men to verify where they were taking the casket to at such an unusual hour.

According to the PPRO, one of the suspects fled the scene during the confrontation, while the other was apprehended and handed over to the police.

John said that when interrogated by the police, the suspect confessed that he and his accomplice had unlawfully exhumed a freshly buried corpse, and removed the corpse from the casket.

According to the police spokesperson, the suspect stole the casket with the intention of selling it for financial gain.

“The police recovered the empty casket as well as the unregistered motorcycle used to convey the stolen property,” she said.

John said further investigation led to another breakthrough on Wednesday at about 5:00 p.m. with the arrest of the manager of Mbiokporo Cemetery.

According to her, the cemetery manager admitted during interrogation to conspiring with the grave diggers in the commission of the offence and claimed it was his first involvement in such criminal activity.

She said investigations were ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident and identify all persons connected with the crime.

John said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Baba Azare, condemned the incident, describing it as barbaric, sacrilegious, and morally reprehensible and a gross violation of the dignity of the dead.

She said the commissioner reiterated the command’s commitment to ensuring that those involved were brought to justice.

“The command will not tolerate any act that desecrates human dignity or undermines public confidence in the rule of law,” she quoted Azare as saying.