11th February, 2020
By Okafor Ofiebor
There were tears and cries at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) mortuary, on Monday when members of family of the late Chima Ikwunado’s identified the body of their son.
Enefaa Georgewill, Chairman Civil Societies Organisation in Rivers State who was among the team that identified the late Chima’s corpse spoke to a Port Harcourt based Radio station saying that the family and Civil Society Organisations were wondering why there should be any need for autopsy as, according to him, there were marks on the deceased’s body which must have resulted from intense beating.
He said although autopsy examination was being carried out at the time, he wondered why the need to carry out any autopsy after seeing the glaring signs of brutality.
Twelve persons, he said, were allowed to enter the mortuary.
They included the Police pathologist Musa Stephen, the family’s pathologist, the IPO, family members, some members of Ikokwu 4, lawyers and civil rights activists.
“The family has identified the body as that of the late Chima Ikwunado. The marks show he was beaten. His hands were peeled and broken. It was a gory sight. All the members of family are all crying as I speak to you now. Autopsy examination is going on”, Enefaa Georgewill informed.
He said wounds and blisters on the deceased’s body confirmed accounts of the Ikokwu 4 narrated at a press conference.
The Commissioner of Police CP Mustapha Dandaura has assured that he would address media after the autopsy examination.