The Metro Health Department of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has warned of rampant grave looting at some cemeteries, especially the Awudome cemetery near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra. The department has consequently advised family members not to bury their dead with valuables since the department was incapable of providing 24-hour protection to the tombs. The Chief Environmental Health Officer, Mr James Aryeetey, made this known to the Daily Graphic in Accra. He explained that as a result of the inadequate lighting in the cemetery and the lack of adequate security, the cemeteries had become a hideout for criminals, who indulged in all manner of nefarious activities, including looting of the graves. He said although there were sextons who ensured sanitary burials in all the four public cemeteries in the metropolis, they were faced with challenges, including inadequate labour force, with respect to scavenging labourers, poor security in terms of lighting and night watchmen. "Currently there is no form of security, not even a security man," he lamented. The supervisor of the Sextons Department, Alhaji Annan, confirmed the story to the Daily Graphic. He said the situation had become very serious and required urgent attention to bring it under control. The whole Awudome cemetery, he explained, was in a mess as a result of the looting. The modus operandi of the looters, according to him, was that the new corpses, which had been buried on top of the old ones, were removed and the old corpses looted. Asked what exactly the looters might be looking for in the old coffins which the new ones did not have, Alhaji Annan answered that in the mornings when the sextons reported for work, they sometimes found scattered beads around the looted graves and therefore, suspected that the looters could be looking for some special beads, which they sold to their clients. The looting, he stated, started in 1983 but had become rampant in recent times. Another part of the cemetery, which was closed in 1999, had every grave virtually looted, Alhaji Annan said. He stressed the need for the regular patrol of the cemetery by the police and the provision of adequate lighting to ward off the criminals. Source: Daily Graphic