Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi,
has offered to pay N5m to anyone that can give information that will lead to
the source of the unidentified corpses found floating on the Ezzu River
bordering Anambra and Enugu States on Saturday.
Obi, who cut short his overseas trip
to visit the scene on Sunday, described the killing and dumping of the corpses
as barbaric and shocking.
He said, “What happened here is
unacceptable in any decent society. Human life and blood is scared and all of
us must respect the sanctity of human life.”
The governor, who said the two states
would investigate the incident, added that they had directed the police to move
in their homicide team and recover the bodies.
The governor directed residents of
the two communities bordering the river, Amansea in Anambra State and Ugwuoba
in Enugu State to desist from fetching water from the river until the corpses
were cleared from the river.
Meanwhile, the corpses have begun to
decompose and are oozing offensive smells in the neighbourhood.
Our correspondent gathered that the
police, local governments, ministry of health and the Anambra State Emergency
Management Agency did not have the facilities to evacuate the corpses.
The Awka Area Commander of the Police
told the governor that the Awka North and Awka South Local governments had been
passing the buck as to which of the councils should clear the corpses.
The Executive Director of the Anambra
State Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Nwabufo Ijezie, said he had reported the
matter to the Epidemiology Department of the Ministry of Health, which he said
should carry out studies on the corpses and clear them.
It said since it was no longer an
emergency, SEMA would no longer handle it.
Residents of the two communities have
however been raising concerns about the consequences of allowing the corpses to
pollute the river, which they depend on for economic activities, like fishing,
sand excavation and water supply.
Tags
Society