Palpable fear of epidemic has gripped residents of Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital, following the decomposing body of a middle-aged man, which was discovered beside a popular filing station within the spera-in-deo plaza in the metropolis.
The decomposing body was found on Saturday, March 2, 2024, between the road connecting the filling station and the Spera-in-Deo plaza and had not been evacuated until the time of this report.
The development has forced the filing station, over 50 shops in the Spera-in-Deo plaza, and other plazas within the area to shut down following the ooze from the decomposing body, while road users have completely avoided the road.
Yesterday, March 4th, some government officials were contacted by shop owners in the area over the situation, but the body has not been evacuated.
One of the shop owners in Spera-in-Deo Plaza, identified simply as Blessing, who sells motor oils, told our correspondent that she has lost many customers as a result of the decomposing body.
“For a few days now, I have not been staying in my shop because of this decomposing body. I have lost a lot of money because I can’t do my business as a result of the odour of the corpse.
“I have gone to security agencies and some ministries in the state and reported the situation to them, but up until today evening, the corpse is still lying,” she stated.
Another business operator within the axis said some people came and collected the sum of N2,000 from each of the shop owners for the evacuation of the body, and that since yesterday the money was collected, nothing has been done.
“We paid the sum of N2000 for the evacuation of the corpse. Some officials of the Ministry of Environment came on Tuesday afternoon to evacuate the corpse, but they have been there since 1 p.m.; they came there,” he stated.
As of 6:pm on Tuesday, the decomposing body was still lying in the area, and business operators within that area could not open their shops.
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