Families left stranded at mortuary as official allegedly removes attendant, blocking retrieval of corpses in Kwande LGA

Grief turned to fury in Mbachoon community, Yaav District, Kwande Local Government Area, Benue State, after the council chairman allegedly sabotaged the mass burial of 11 victims slaughtered by armed herdsmen — leaving devastated families stranded outside a locked mortuary, unable to claim the bodies of their loved ones.

Residents allege the Kwande Council Chairman, acting in connivance with authorities in the state capital Makurdi, orchestrated the disruption by physically removing the mortuary attendant from the facility, effectively locking grieving families out on the day of burial.

"They came and took the mortician away," residents told those gathered at the scene. The revelation triggered immediate outrage, with community members threatening to break into the mortuary to retrieve the corpses themselves.

Community coordinator Chief Fabian Yaga condemned the chairman's actions in the strongest terms, revealing a crisis far deeper than a single incident — disclosing that over 70 bodies of people killed by armed herders currently lie in the same mortuary, awaiting burial.

The charged atmosphere was witnessed by Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo, a Plateau State-based crusader against Christian genocide, and American philanthropist Alex Babir, both of whom had traveled to the community specifically to witness the burial ceremony. The two urged the crowd to remain calm, with Rev. Dachomo leading prayers around the mortuary building.

Despite the disruption, visible support poured in for the stricken families. Rev. Dachomo donated ₦250,000 on the spot, while Babir pledged to rebuild 200 homes destroyed in the attacks and drill a borehole for the community. The organization Equipping the Persecuted covered the cost of caskets for all 11 victims and made an additional financial contribution to the families.

The Kwande Council Secretariat had yet to issue an official response at the time of reporting. The incident has intensified calls for accountability over the escalating herder-farmer violence that has ravaged Benue State communities in recent months.