Anambra: Conversion of cemeteries to residences sparks concerns

Anambra map

Health experts and stakeholders in the health sector including residents and Civil Societies have raised the alarm over the sale and conversion of Public and Government-owned Cemeteries to residential homes in some parts of Anambra State.

The Cemetery in Oraifite Street, Awada Obosi in Idemili North Local Government Area and New Cemetery Road in Odoakpu in Onitsha North Local Government Area of the state have been sold out to different individuals.

Findings by South-East PUNCH revealed that several petitions to the State Urban Development Board, including the State Ministries of health and Environment, have yielded no results as this has continued to pose environmental and health risks to unsuspecting residents.

Checks by our correspondent in Anambra State indicated that these large portion of lands used for cemetery purpose several decades back have been converted to residential buildings without proper reburial of the human remains, thereby posing potential health and environmental implications to the already densely populated areas.

Some of the concerned stakeholders in the state such as health experts, civil society groups including Campaign for Campaign for Democracy and Human Rights Liberty Access and Peace Defender’s Foundation, are worried that if this trend continues, it might lead to epidemic and there is a need for the authorities concerned to heed the call for it’s sanity.

An Ecologist, Dr Chinedu Ibeh, who spoke to South-East PUNCH expressed fears that converting cemeteries to residential buildings could spark significant health consequences, including emotional and cultural implications to residents in such areas.

Ibeh said, “These public-owned cemeteries have been existing for many decades ago, they were vast lands initially owned by the government and it was serving its purpose until people started encroaching into them in recent times and converting them to residential buildings and churches without exhuming and relocating the human remains because of its complex and costly nature.