By Jonathan Ugbal and Patrick Obia
Contrary to reportage (not by this Newspaper) that 15 headless bodies were found in Nigeria’s southern port city of Calabar, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) which made the discovery, said the corpses were eight.
Seven males and a female were discovered by the Cross River State command of th NSCDc on Tuesday along the PAMOL oil estate located at the Calabar – Odukpani axis of the Calabar – Itu – Ikot-Ekpene highway.
“The female was the freshest of the corpses with a gun wound to the head while the other seven males were at different levels of decomposition,” Eremi John, the NSCDC spokesman in Cross River State told this reporter.
He said: “We were alerted by people around there that there was a pungent smell and we mobilized a team including medical to the scene who made the discovery.”
It is unclear how the corpses got there but preliminary investigations show that at least one person may have been shot at the scene as a bullet shell was found at the site.
The NSCDC said it suspected that the bodies were dumped on different days given the levels of decomposition.
The NSCDC also said that it could not at the preliminary stage, disclose what may have killed the other seven males.
“We have reached out to the (Cross River State) Ministry of Environment because it is their duty to evacuate the corpse,” Mr. Eremi said.
He added that the Police division in Odukpani which is less than 10 kilometers away was alerted by the NSCDC.
But local police authority is yet to issue a statement on the issue.
Irene Ugbo, a Deputy Superintendent in the Nigerian Police Force and spokesperson for the Cross River State police Command did not take her calls as at press time.
Also, messages to her phone were neither acknowledged nor replied.