- The FMC, Epe morgue currently holds about 270 unclaimed corpses.
- Legal approval has been secured for a mass burial scheduled for September 21, 2025.
- Relatives are urged to come forward with valid documents to claim bodies before the deadline.
The Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Epe, Lagos State, has announced plans to conduct a mass burial for over 270 unclaimed corpses in its morgue on Sunday, September 21, 2025.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the hospital management, through its Legal and Environmental Health Services Departments, issued an urgent notice calling on relatives and friends of missing persons to come forward and claim the bodies for a dignified burial.
According to the hospital, the decision became necessary after months of waiting without any family members stepping forward, coupled with the huge financial burden of preserving the corpses and the environmental hazards posed by the overcrowded morgue.
A recent inspection confirmed that the morgue currently holds about 170 adults and 100 children, some of whose remains have been kept for several years.
“We issue this urgent notice regarding the remains of deceased persons who are yet to be identified or claimed by their families,” the Legal Department stated.
“We hereby request relatives and friends who have missing loved ones to please come forward to identify and claim the bodies for dignified burial.”
The Environmental Health Services Department added that the prolonged storage of the corpses has caused serious overcrowding, which is “negatively telling on the hospital purse.”
The hospital further disclosed that all necessary legal approvals have been secured to proceed with the mass burial.
To claim a corpse, relatives are required to provide valid identification, proof of relationship, and any evidence linking them to the deceased.
The management appealed to the public once again, emphasizing this as the final opportunity to claim any missing relatives before the burial date.
