Dylan Bettencourt
Police in Nigeria have opened an investigation into the discovery of 20 mummified bodies, including children, in a suspected “ritual shrine”.
The discovery in Benin City in the southern Edo state has sent shockwaves across the country as the public has criticised the police for following up on the incident.
A civil society organisation issued a statement accusing the police of misleading the public.
The group revealed that the building where the mummified bodies are being kept was not a voodoo shrine at all but a newly built morgue to house evacuated bodies from an old facility.
Police spokesperson Chidi Nwabuzor confirmed he had already sent a medical team to investigate the case, as per the BBC.
Nwabuzor added that the owner of the shrine is on the run. He also said that the civil society group were not medical doctors that could determine whether the bodies were used as a
shrine or just housed in the facility.
The police could not indicate how long the bodies had been in the house.
Reports suggest that local vigilanties raided the building after receiving word about suspicious activity in the area.
Three suspects were arrested in connection with the discovery of 15 male bodies, three female bodies and two children.
The discovery is said to have left residents in the area shocked that the bodies were being kept without anyone noticing. Image source: @TheCable
