Nigerians Dig Up And Eat Contaminated Chicken Buried By Customs In Rivers

There was pandemonium on Saturday and Sunday
near the Trailer Park at Ebubu in Eleme Local
Government Area of Rivers when scores of youth,
women and children descended on a burrow pit;
dug out and took home several tonnes of chicken
condemned and buried by men of the Nigerian
Customs.
The scavengers came with shovels, pans, basins
and buckets to cart their loot home.
The Customs had on Friday dug out a canal there
and buried thousands of cartons of frozen poultry
they seized at the Onne Ports. Witnesses said the
chicken were brought in six containers, emptied
and buried before the customs party left.
But news soon spread abroad about the
development and very early on Saturday, the
human carrions came calling. With no security at
the site, they dug and dug and opened up the pit.
A visit to many homes around the area on Sunday
revealed serious barbecuing going on as people
roasted and dried the chicken they exhumed from
the burial site.
In one home according to reports, a full length
refrigerator was stocked full of roast chicken, while
the hosts invited guests to a sumptuous pick.
But the development has sent an alarm across
Eleme and neighbouring communities about the
danger of eating the condemned chicken.
The Archbishop of the popular Commonwealth
Covenant Church, the Most Rev. Moses Kattey, had
to put out a message to the people on Sunday
warning people off eating chicken for two weeks.
“A very mighty hole was dug and trailers of carton
of chicken were buried by govt for health reasons.
People have gone there with shovels to exhume the
meat to sell. Warn your people please not to buy
frozen or fried chicken next 2 weeks. They are
poisonous. This happened here in Eleme but can
be sold anywhere,” the archbishop said.
Mr. Friday Lewa Goya, a local resident said:
“We saw scores of people in Eleme/Onne axis (just
before trailer Park) carrying raffia bags full of
exhumed ‘frozen’ chickens and turkey. The Nigerian
Customs buried them yesterday after seizing them
from the importers.
“Please if you live in Rivers state, especially in
Onne area cascade this post. you might also want
to stay off frozen poultry for a while.”
A few other residents however said there was no
health hazard with the poultry. Mr. Lasbrey Iriaka
said the poultry was confiscated not because it had
expired or because it posed health hazard.
“It was seized from importers because it is
contraband. The customs men even diverted one
container themselves. So who is fooling who?”
queried Iriaka.