The University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) has issued a public notice over hundreds of unclaimed bodies kept in its mortuary.
Hospital authorities say the situation has become difficult to manage and may lead to a mass burial if families fail to come forward.
According to officials, a total of 462 unclaimed corpses in UBTH mortuary have remained without identification or collection for several months.
The hospital revealed that many of the bodies have been stored between January 2023 and June 2025.
Even more troubling, hospital authorities disclosed that about 350 of the unclaimed bodies are children.
The development has drawn attention to the growing challenge faced by hospitals in managing abandoned remains.
Meanwhile, the hospital has announced a six-week grace period for relatives or guardians to claim the bodies. After the deadline, management says the corpses may be buried collectively.
Professor Adebola Ehizele, Deputy Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee in charge of Research and Ethics, spoke about the issue during a broadcast interview in Benin City. She explained that the mortuary has reached a critical point.
According to her, many of the bodies have stayed in the facility far longer than expected. As a result, the hospital is now taking steps to resolve the issue.
Moreover, the hospital management released a statement confirming that plans are already underway to address the overcrowded mortuary. The statement urged families to visit the hospital as soon as possible.
It reads: “We hereby request that owners of such corpses come forward and claim them as they can no longer be accomodated in the hospital morgue.”
Furthermore, the management explained that the notice period is meant to give relatives enough time to respond. The hospital stressed that the mortuary space is limited and must continue serving new cases.
The statement also added: “Consequently, owners of such corpses are hereby given six week’s notice from the date of this publication/announcement to claim their corpse(s).”
However, the hospital warned that the deadline would be strictly followed once the notice period expires. Authorities say unclaimed bodies cannot remain in the mortuary indefinitely.
The statement continued: “Any unclaimed corpse(s) at the expiration of the six weeks period shall be disposed off through mass burial or any other manner considered appropriate.”
Meanwhile, hospital officials say the decision is not unusual in public health systems. Similar steps are sometimes taken when bodies remain unclaimed for long periods.
In addition, medical experts say overcrowded mortuaries can create serious management and health challenges. Therefore, hospitals must occasionally take difficult administrative decisions.
