The Mortuaries and Funeral Facilities Agency (MoFFA) has given management of the Battor Catholic Hospital Mortuary Annex at Anyamam 14 days to account for the whereabouts of the body of 53-year-old Georgina Tsiakie Agbasi.
The directive follows an assessment and investigation by the agency into the circumstances surrounding the reported disappearance of the deceased’s body from the facility.
Deputy Registrar of MoFFA, Dr. Phillip Sarpong, said preliminary investigations had identified gaps in some of the processes at the mortuary.
He said the agency has engaged management of the facility and is working to establish what happened to the body, adding that management has assured the agency that the body would be located.
Dr. Sarpong urged the bereaved family to remain calm as efforts continue to establish the whereabouts of their relative’s remains.
However, family head, Reverend Ebenezer Ogbe, said the family had not been directly engaged by MoFFA despite being present when representatives of the agency visited the facility.
According to him, the family waited to engage the agency’s representatives but was not approached. He said they only became aware of the 14-day ultimatum after journalists who had interacted with the agency informed them about it.
Rev. Ogbe noted that the incident has caused significant emotional distress among family members, particularly the children and husband of the deceased.
He expressed concern about the effect of the prolonged uncertainty on the health and wellbeing of the relatives, stating that the husband has been particularly affected and has struggled to eat or drink since the body was reported missing.
When asked whether the family would proceed immediately with burial if the remains were located, he said that would depend on the condition in which the body is found.
The family says it remains distressed and is waiting for the outcome of efforts to locate the remains.
_Source: GNA_
