The people of Akure community and its environs have been advised to be watchful of the environmental and health risks involved in burying bodies in the residential areas, warning that decomposing in the earth could taint well water with toxins.
The Chief Executive of Golden Gardens and Vault, Akure, Prince Solagbade Amodeni, stated this while enlightening residents of the communities on the danger attached to burying corpses within residential areas.
Amodeni, a former commissioner in the state stressed that the public should be sensitised on the dangers inherent in the practice of burying corpses in dwelling houses and residential areas.
He urged the state government to discourage, orientate the public and outlaw the burial of corpses within residential premises across the state to forestall health hazard.
Amodeni further said that this was the rationale behind the establishment of Golden Gardens and Vault in Akure.
Amodeni said the cemetery was conceived so as to provide a safe place for the dead ones and to reduce the menace of theft of corpses and body parts of the people who have been buried.
“The purpose of the project is to offer the society a secured and serene environment for the burial of their loved ones with opportunity for graveside visitation and memorial service.
“Though, there is an existing law that people should not bury in private homes, but there is no enforcement, there is no advocacy program from government.
“People should desist from burying their love ones at home because of spread of disease, and to protect our deep well, borehole, because most of dead body before they died, they are embalmed and they got rotten, if it goes down, it is dangerous to the health of the living.
“We established this to ensure that the loved ones that are dead are safe. To prevent the issue of theft of body of the dead ones. It is a necessity to keep our dead ones in a befitting place.
He said the private cemetery is not just a cemetery but a place that offers the best of service to ensure loved ones rest well while other services are offers by the Garden and Vault.
“I can tell you that this is not the first private cementary in Akure, but this golden is one of the best, we have over 3.4hectares of land here, we have a very big multipurpose hall which can be used for entertainment of guests.
“We have lands which can be used for any program, any Ministry can do their crusade here we have lands that can accommodate 5,000 people, we offer this free of charge to religious group either Christians of Muslims and it is affordable for all”
Speaking on the security of the corpses, Amodeni said, “we have armed men here that secure the premised, they are here all the time and the type of concrete we have here is powerful.
“It would take about 23 hours before you can penetrate the concrete grave and it will take, two people an average of 11 hours to get the dept of the burial ground and apart from this, we also have our cameras in place.
An Akure resident, Toyosi Kolawole, who came to bury his late mother, said “getting a lasting and befitting burial is vital for our aged ones and the best we can do is to get them a suitable resting place.
“From what I can see here at GGV Akure, the facility is good and spacious, the reception is also impressive, the host is very welcoming.
“So I will recommend this place to people around and abroad. If you are looking for where to lay your departed loved ones, they deserve a place at GGV”
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