Human body, according to scientists, begins to degrade whenever life-sustaining processes that include blood circulation and metabolism stop functioning. Life in such body will end and feast on the dead body will begin for worms and bacteria that live in soil.
The lifeless body usually undergoes some unpleasant changes, such that skin and eyeball will decay. The hair and bones will also turn to dust in line with the law of nature.
But it is always a mystery when a corpse refuses to decay after many years in the grave. This occurred at Apata, Ibadan, Oyo State, recently. A lifeless body of Pa Joseph Olukotun, buried in 1978 was exhumed 39 years after, and it was still found fresh with the shroud and the casket.
Immediately the news broke, thousands of people in Apata, Omi-Adio, Odo-Ona, Felele, Oluyole and Ilugun rushed to catch a glimpse of the body that refused to decompose 39 years after he was buried.
The people were allowed to feast their eyes on the body for about three hours before the body was taken to a cemetery for re-burial with the same casket it was initially buried with in 1978.
Mr. Olayiwola Olukotun, 65, a retiree of Carlsberg Group, is the first surviving son of the deceased: “My father was a Christian and not the sort of today’s Christians. He believed in helping people and he would always tell you to be open to people, and he had a motto translated to mean; ‘Do good at all times to people’. He was a devout member of St Michael’s African Church, Apata.
“But what touched my mind apart from the body being intact is that, even the shroud and the coffin were intact since 1978. We used the same coffin that we used to bury him 39 years ago to re-bury him at Arigbajo, near Ifo, Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State on Wednesday, November 22, 2017.”
Did the family embalm the corpse before burial in 1978? Olayiwola answered: “Based on the fact that I was not in Nigeria in 1978, I presumed he must have been embalmed. I am not sure of this. But my elder brother, who could have embalmed him, was also dead. Even, if he was embalmed, what about the shroud and the coffin that were intact?”
Daily Sun also sought to know why the corpse was exhumed for re-burial: “My mum, who is 101 years old, in readiness for her final journey back to God said we should not bury her in Ibadan.
“We gave it a thought that why would our mother be buried in Arigbajo and our father in Ibadan? So, why can’t we bury the two of them together in Arigbajo because my mother is the only surviving wife? My father had two wives, but one died before his own death.
“My father and mother are from the same Arigbajo village. We decided to have a land to bury my dad and mom on the same ground. We needed to do it before the death of my mother. Also, I had an inspiration when I read the Bible and Joseph said; ‘When I died and I am buried, make sure you take my bones to my people in Israel.’ I believe that is what we have done.”
Pa Olukotun left Arigbajo to work with Post and Telecommunications (P&T), Dugbe, Ibadan, from where he was transferred to many places including Kaduna, Zaria, Lagos and Osogbo: “My father had children born in those places and we are nine in total. He died at the age of 89 years in 1978.
“We did not exhume his body by ourselves. We engaged the services of people that specialised in such exercise. We gave them money to do it and other things they asked for, we gave them. But what they did and did not do as far as traditional rites are concerned, I don’t know. The financial cost of exhumation and re-burial cost about N350,000.
“When I saw his body and coffin intact, I said it can only be God. I went to Apata in the morning of the day we exhumed his body from the grave with a bag to pack his remains.
“After discussing with some medical personnel, they told me I might be lucky to find his hair and nail
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