Anambra Police Command starts Autopsy of Esu River Dead Bodies

THE Anambra State Police Command Monday announced the commencement of autopsy on the 18 corpses recovered from Ezu River in Amansea, Anambra State, on Sunday.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ballah Nasarawa, disclosed this to journalists during the launch of the Code of Conduct for officers and men of the Anambra State Police Command at the Police Headquarters yesterday.

“Tomorrow (today), police pathologists from Benin and government doctors in Anambra State will commence work on the autopsy.

“Investigation reveals that all the corpses are male adults, no females and children. It was also discovered that there were no gunshot injuries or any marks of violence found on the corpses,” he said.

The police boss also used the opportunity to refute the rumour making the rounds that 30 or 50 corpses were recovered, insisting that only 18 corpses were picked up from the river.

According to him, the state Commissioner for Health, who witnessed the evacuation of the corpses from the river on Sunday, will also be present during the exercise. “Investigation is on-going, and any further revelation will be made later to the press,” he added.

Nasarawa assured that police in Anambra would not relent until all forms of criminality are wiped out, just as he cautioned those involved in criminal activities to look for other sources of livelihood.

Snippets from the autopsy report on the 25 corpses dumped inside Ezu River in Amansea, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, indicate that the deceased were extra-judicially murdered.

Vanguard gathered from sources in Lagos last night that the pathologists, who carried out the autopsy, discovered some bullet wounds, bruises and other signs that the suspects did not die of natural causes.

The sources said although the results of the autopsy were scanty, it would be correct to assume that those whose corpses were thrown into the river had been in detention or custody.

Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr Lawrence Ikeakor, had said that government made “startling discoveries” from the corpses of three of the victims, whose bodies were initially exhumed, prompting it to order further investigations on the remaining bodies.

Tongues were wagging last night that some of those killed were suspected kidnap or armed robbery suspects in the custody of security agencies in the state. - Vanguard