The Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State has disputed the police account surrounding the reported discovery of 28 human skulls and other remains in forests within the area.
The local government said the remains were linked to a criminal camp discovered in August 2024, rather than a fresh discovery as suggested by recent reports.
According to the council, the camp was uncovered during a joint security operation involving the police, local vigilantes and community trackers along the Abia-Imo border.
The media team of the Local Government Chairman, Sunday Afurobi, was responding to a recent press release by the Abia State Police Command, which said it had discovered 28 human skulls and bones in two forests at Umuaku and Nneato, Umunneochi LGA.
The council said the re-circulation of footage from the old operation had created the impression of a new security incident, causing unnecessary concern among residents.
He said, “The attention of the Umunneochi Local Government Administration has been drawn to a story currently circulating on social media within and outside Umunneochi, claiming that the police recently raided a kidnappers’ hideout ‘around Umuaku-Isuochi and Nneato and discovered 28 human skulls’, while the suspected perpetrators escaped without being apprehended.
“We wish to state clearly that the said site is an abandoned camp of suspected kidnappers situated at the boundary between Aku community in Okigwe LGA of Imo State and Nneato in Umunneochi LGA. It was uncovered around August 2024 by joint government security operatives working in synergy with our local vigilantes.
“Thus, the information is not a recent incident in Isuochi and should not be seen as such,” the council stated in an official response.
It urged the public to rely on verified information and assured residents that security agencies and local vigilantes were maintaining surveillance across the area.
“We urge residents of Isuochi and Umunneochi Local Government Area to remain calm and disregard the misleading impression that there has been a recent discovery of such a criminal hideout in Isuochi,” the Umunneochi LGA maintained.
The police have said investigations are ongoing to establish the identities of the deceased and the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
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