SAHARANEWS – The remains of the late Executive Chairman of Asari-Toru Local government area of Rivers State, Odiari Princewill who died of coronavirus, have been exhumed.
Late Princewill’s body was exhumed by gunmen suspected to be native of Buguma, his hometown.
Eyewitnesses say that some gunmen stormed Port Harcourt cemetery, shot sporadically in the air, headed for the site where the late LGA Chairman was buried and dug-out the coffin.
It was gathered that they escaped with the coffin through the Bille waterside jetty in Port Harcourt.
An eyewitness, who pleaded anonymity, told SaharaNews that the gunmen were heard grumbling about the lackadaisical burial of Odiari Princewill.
“I think they are system men. The way they came to the cemetery everyone just slowly walked away. Sometimes, we use to have people come like that especially when the person that died belong to a group.
“But this one is different. They just came and went straight to the burial ground and started digging out the sand. They were like 10 of them. They said they want to give the Chairman a proper burial in his hometown,” he said.
When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer in Rivers state, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, promised to confirm the incident.
However, reports from Buguma says crisis is looming as Rivers State government sent troops to prevent entrance of the exhumed body of late LGA Chairman into Asari-Toru Local Government Area.
The late Executive Chairman of Asari-Toru Local Government Council, Odiari Princewill, died in the early hours of Thursday of coronavirus and was buried immediately at the Port Harcourt cemetery in line with the COVID-19 burial protocol by officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC.