Nigerian caught with 70 dead babies

A man has been nabbed with a bag containing more than 70 dead babies in Nigeria. He is alleged to be evading morgue and burial fees. According to media reports he was employed by the Lagos University Teaching Hospital to take the corpses to a cemetery and was arrested while dumping them.

The BBC said a hospital spokesman said it was co-operating with police investigations into the incident.

The report said many families are too devastated to deal with the dead babies and others cannot afford morgue fees, so abandon them outside hospitals. Hospitals hire contractors to bury the corpses.

A police preliminary investigation also led to the arrest of some workers in the Department of Morbid and Anatomy at the teaching hospital, said Lagos state police public relations officer Frank Mba.

He also said that the suspect had not intended to use the bodies in any rituals.

"We are sure that the suspect is neither a ritualist nor a murderer nor a trafficker. Other contending issues like corruption and abuse of office will be investigated," Mba added.

The hospital described the incident as an embarrassment to the organisation.