Relatives Refuse To Claim Corpses Of 21 Boko Haram SSS Jail Break Escapees

A week after 21 suspected members of Boko Haram sect were killed during a foiled jailbreak attempt at the headquarters of the Department of State Security (DSS) in Abuja, nobody has come forward to claim their remains, investigation has revealed.
The inmates had attempted to escape from detention last Sunday when, according to the DSS, one of them attacked a guard and seized his weapon, resulting in hours of shootout that left 21 detainees dead and two security agents injured.
The situation was brought under control when soldiers from the Guards Brigade intervened and cordoned off the area.
Bodies of the suspected Boko Haram members were later deposited at the mortuary of the National Hospital in Abuja by the personnel of the security service.
The DSS did not, however, disclose the identities of the inmates, provide details as to the time and places of their arrest or their respective positions in the hierarchy of the terrorist group.
When our reporters visited the hospital on Friday, officials disclosed that the remains were being kept in the morgue under the instruction of the security operatives.
One of the officials who did not give his names also said that no relations or acquaintance of any of the killed suspects had come forward to either identify the remains or claim them for burial.
“Nobody has requested to see the corpses or asked to be allowed to collect any of them since the security agents dropped them here,” the staff who works at the hospital’s mortuary said.
Another official said the identities of the bodies were not disclosed to the hospital, adding there is no record in the hospital to show who they are or what their names are.
He said alphabets were attached to each of the bodies, as they were brought to the hospital, adding that only the DSS knew what the letters stood for.
When contacted, the hospital’s spokesperson, Dr Tayo Haastrup, said the hospital had no information on any of the dead suspects. “All we know about them is not different from what Marilyn Oga has told the media,” he said, referring to DSS spokeswoman.