For years, suspicions of ritualistic activities by corrupt mortuary attendants have tormented grieving families whose loved ones were returned without vital body parts. But in a chilling twist straight from a horror script, this investigation uncovers a far more grotesque reality: in some neglected Nigerian mortuaries, ravenous rats gnaw at human remains, stripping corpses of dignity alongside suspected human atrocities.
What was meant to be a solemn farewell turned into a heartbreaking scene for the family of the late Mrs. Angela Nyam, whose remains were deposited at the old site of the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) in Plateau State.
At 7 a.m., mourners quietly gathered at the hospital’s mortuary on Murtala Mohammed Way, preparing to accompany Mrs. Nyam to her final resting place at the Evangelical Church Winning All in Rusau village.
But the solemnity quickly unraveled. Having previously expressed concerns about the mortuary’s condition, her family demanded a final inspection of her body before proceeding. What they found shocked them: her face had been mutilated.
“It wasn’t how we left her,” recalled Joy Nyam, an elder family member fighting back tears. “When we opened the casket, parts of her face — her lips and areas around her eyes — were gone.”
As word of the discovery spread, emotions flared. Whispers turned into angry cries. Youths from the area, gathered in solidarity, began to protest and hurl stones. Sympathisers fled for safety, and a cleric attempting to calm the situation was reportedly injured before police intervened to restore order.
In the midst of the chaos, a mortuary attendant, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed a grim reality: “It wasn’t humans. It was rats. They have been chewing on the corpses. The cold rooms broke down in 2015. Since then, we’ve had no electricity, no functioning freezers. We embalm as best we can, but it’s not enough.”
A senior hospital worker corroborated the claim, insisting, “It was rats. That’s the truth. The family accused someone of removing an eye, but both eyes were intact. Management knows this.”
Despite these confessions from staff, the hospital’s official statement told a different story.
“The attention of the Management of the Jos University Teaching Hospital was drawn to unfounded rumours… This is to clarify that the rumour has no basis,” read a statement signed by Bridget Omini, the hospital’s Protocol and Public Relations Officer.
Ultimately, Mrs. Nyam’s family held a low-key burial that evening, stripped of the public, dignified farewell they had carefully planned.
“She was a mother, a teacher, a woman of deep faith. We only wanted to lay her to rest with honour. Instead, we carry even deeper pain in our hearts,” said her eldest son, Mr. P. Nyam.
Their grief was worsened by the knowledge that the system meant to protect the dignity of the dead had failed them so completely.
In a related case, tragedy struck again just weeks earlier at a mortuary facility between Afoukwu and Abayi Okoroato village, along the Aba-Ikot Ekpene Highway in Obingwa Local Government Area, Abia State.
According to a report by The Daily Crucible on April 2, 2025, what began as a routine day ended in horror when a family arrived to retrieve the body of their deceased son — only to face a fresh nightmare.
