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| Cadaver rotting away inside the drainage unbeknownst to police officers |
Efio-Ita Nyok|20 December 2016
On Saturday 17 December a public official by name Mr Orok Duke discovered a decomposing corpse in one of the drainages in Calabar metropolis. The next day he drew the attention of NegroidHaven to it. What follows is how he narrated his experience with disposing of the already mummified cadaver. Duke titled his essay, THERE WAS A CORPSE ON THE HIGHWAY. Excerpt:
*On 17/12/2016, I discovered a decomposing body inside the public drainage along Marian Boulevard, after the Jonathan Goodluck Bypass, Calabar. The location is (after the overhead bridge) the point by the stream, where the Police has a permanent checkpoint.
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| Popular Traffic Warden in Calabar metropolis |
The weather had mummified the body and the greenery had also assisted odoriferously. So, the eight Policemen carried on, totally oblivious of a victim of murder, eternally entombed in the gutter nearby.
I called their attention to the corpse and also put a call across to Mr JoeMary Ekeng Ita of CUDA. He initially expressed mixed feelings about the removal of the body and the fact that he did not have a functional vehicle and being a weekend, he was cash-trapped and unable to hire a vehicle for the assignment. He suggested that I should call the Commissioner for Environment, but his phone was unavailable.
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| Mummified body |
The Policemen and I remained there, while I made alternative plans to remove the body. But to our pleasant surprise, a gentleman called John,who is the head of the Health Unit of CUDA, came over to meet us and examine the situation – obviously on the directive of JoeMary.
John and JoeMary, took over our sentry duties, earlier that we had expected. As I departed from Ikot Effanga, my conviction that there were still dedicated public officials abound – was further consolidated.
My heart goes out to the dead man: he may have been a father, uncle, brother, guardian or nephew to some people, somewhere when he was alive. How he died may never be known and his killers may never be found. His hopes and dreams, will never be realised. But, he craves for and deserves a dignified repose, methinks.
The gutter,definitely, could not have been the final resting place that our society would in or humanity accept or wish for him.
To the likes of JoeMary and John (of CUDA) and the rest of us who still believe that the system can be tweaked to be better – more grease and Godspeed. Patience and perseverance are what I wish for us. Selah.
Orok Otu Duke
Duke Town
Duke Town
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| Mr Orok Duke (in suit) during the burial ceremony of the late father of CRS Commissioner for Health, Dr Inyang Asibong |
If forensic investigations are conducted we may get to the root of the Denise of the man. However, our government isn’t that responsible, I must confess. But, the fact must be made that the spate of extra judicial killings taking place in Calabar is appalling and alarming.
The first responsibility of government is to protect lives and properties. If this responsibility can’t be immediately actualised at the instant, justice should not be elusive when there’s an aberration.
I am therefore calling on the government of Cross River to ensure that the cause of the death of the man be inquired into.
Efio-Ita Nyok
Is a Blogger, the Editor & Publisher of NegroidHaven.org
