The Abia State Government has said that the details of the 70 corpses recovered in the forest around the Lokpanta Cattle Market in the Umunneochi Local Government Area of the state are with security agencies.

The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Kazie Uko, said that the governor made his remarks based on the information provided to him by the security agencies, and that the details would be released after the investigations have been completed.

Uko stated that it is a security matter and that the corpses were not given to the governor. He said that the security agencies conducted their operations and reported their findings to the governor.

“What he (Otti) said was based on the report given to him by the security men.

“It is the security men who will tell where the corpses are. It is a security matter and they didn’t package them to come and give to the governor.

“The people did their operations and they reported to the governor their findings. It is a security matter,” he said.

When asked whether the corpses would be given a mass burial or displayed for potential identification by relatives, Uko said that the security agencies would determine the best course of action after completing their investigation.

The Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, had disclosed during his monthly media chat in Umuahia last Sunday that security agents had uncovered 70 decomposing corpses and numerous skeletons during a raid of the forest around the cattle market.

The governor explained that this was why his administration had decided to convert the market from a weekly market to a daily market in order to ensure public safety.

However, leaders of the northern community in the market said that they saw the governor’s move as a plot to evict them, and that they were unaware of the discovery of the said corpses.