The Jessy Best Hotel and Ugwudi Cottage Hospital mortuary services, which were located on the Owerri-Aba Road in the Ngor Okpala local government area, were demolished by the Imo State Government and the State Police Command.
Two pricey homes, a bungalow and duplex with sizable compounds, and a smaller flat in Ngor Community in the Council area—which was allegedly a shrine where fetish items were found and set on fire by the enforcement teams—were also razed.
Before the demolition, unclaimed bodies were moved from the mortuary to another body preservation facility.
Speaking to newsmen at the scene before the demolition exercise, the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, disclosed that the order to demolish the properties was issued by the State Governor, Hope Uzodinma.
According to the Imo state CP, Stanley Oparaugo, also known as Morocco, the owner of the properties, has been proclaimed sought by his command after declining multiple police invites.
The Police Chief indicated that the properties were a sanctuary for alleged criminal offences based on reliable intelligence.
Danjuma said that because the majority of the remains were disfigured, it was believed that the destroyed mortuary was used for organ harvesting.
The CP added that “the suspect can only run but can’t hide for too long as the long arm of the law would catch up with him”.
Danjuma reaffirmed that Owerri-Aba Motorway users would continue to travel safely under his supervision while urging the public to give his Command pertinent information that would enable the fugitive suspect to be apprehended and prosecuted.
Similarly, Chioma Egu, the Imo State’s Commissioner for Health, stated that the primary goal of the mortuary’s demolition, as ordered by the Governor, was to stop future health and security issues in the State.
In addition to the facility’s lack of registration and operating licence, Egu stated that her ministry’s findings revealed that the majority of the important organs from the bodies that had been placed were absent.
She disclosed that going ahead, her ministry would appoint a taskforce team to take action against preservation centres that fail to comply with basic operating procedures.
Chika Ibekwe, the Local Council Chairman, expressed gratitude to the State Governor for his bravery in combating insecurity in the LGA.
She pledged that the LGA would remain a secure place for locals and guests while she was in charge.
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