Kano state – Aero Contractors has been slammed for abandoning a corpse at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The bereaved family said the incident happened despite completing payments and meeting all the required paperwork.
The deceased’s uncle, Abubakar Jimeta, said the flight departed Lagos for Kano at 7:45am on Sunday with the eight bereaved family members and other passengers on board.
The angry man said they left Lagos without knowing that the body of their loved one was left at the airport, Daily Nigerian reports.
Jimeta said the airline was discourteous for refusing to notify them.
He lamented that the airline messed up arrangements for timely Islamic burial scheduled at 10:30am.
He said hundreds of mourners as well as an ambulance were waiting to convey the body from the airport when they discovered the corpse was abandoned in Lagos.
According to Jimeta, his nephew passed away at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in Ikeja.
“We enlisted the help of an Aero agent, Ehi Multi System Nigeria Limited, to assist us in the process of flying the body of my nephew alongside us. After completing the necessary paperwork and documentation, we paid a total of about N700,000, which included the costs for the six business class and two economy class tickets, along with the arrangements for transporting my nephew’s body.
He added that:
“However, our relief was short-lived. After a lengthy wait, our flight didn’t take off until 7:45 AM. Upon landing in Kano, we were met with a horrifying reality: Aero Contractors had left my nephew’s body in Lagos. In a moment that should have been one of solace and closure, we were met with confusion and disbelief. An ambulance was waiting for us on the ground, ready to transport my nephew, but there was nothing to transport.”
