Dead man rises from mortuary 30hrs later

What could be regarded as an uncommon miracle occurred in Makurdi, the capital of Benue State, as a 70-year-old man, Amos Otene, reportedly resurrected from death after three days.
He was said to have actually spent over 30 hours in the morgue after he had been certified dead by doctors at a private hospital in Markurdi on Saturday, August 26, 2015.
He was said to have been admitted on Friday August 25 after complaining of severe toothaches, which had been tormenting him for days.
Doctors, according to Vanguard, certified Otene dead at 4. 30 am and promptly covered him up and wheeled him into the mortuary, awaiting instructions from members of the family for embalmment.
As further proof that Otene was dead, the doctors extracted the requisite body fluid and other substances from the corpse, for post mortem examination which was to ultimately reveal the cause of death.
But on Sunday August 27, the man rose to the bewilderment of all in the hospital and in the area.
One of his children called Eche who visited to see his father’s corpse related the ‘miracle’.
He said: “At about 1.39 pm, the morticians at the hospital wheeled out the trolley containing my father and unveiled the face for me to see.
“It was in this process that he started raising his right hand and all of us fled towards the reception area of the mortuary. From a safe distance we watched as my father lifted himself and sat on the bed and that was about seven minutes later. One of the attendants eventually summoned enough courage and approached my father who fell back on the trolley”.
He said after the incident, the doctors ordered his father to be moved back to the ward where after some medications and series of tests, he was on Tuesday August 29 certified fit to be discharged.
The following day, Otene’s residence at Old GRA Makurdi, became a beehive of activities as well-wishers trooped to the place to catch a glimpse of him.
Speaking about the incident, Otene said: “what I remember is that I was in a vehicle and traveled a long distance.
“When I got there, there were many people and there was a lot of celebration and merriment and the people were happy. But they did not allow me to stay with them. They said I should go back and repeat my work.
“I am much better now and I thank God for everything and I also owe many thanks to the hospital for taking care of me and my family members who have been worried. I hope they will continue to be with me until I am completely free from this stress.”
On her part, Otene’s wife, Elizabeth, who was not told about the ‘death’ of her husband because her children felt the news could worsen her hypertensive situation, was full of praise to God for bringing her husband back to life.
“They did not tell me that my husband died, they only told me after the resurrection and I think it is a miracle. I ask God to forgive me for doubting when they told me that he died and resurrected.

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“After his resurrection he developed high appetite for food and he has been demanding for food”, she said.
And Eche, the son added: “This is God’s miracle. We glorify God’s name. God is merciful and we can’t thank Him enough for keeping my father alive. What if they had embalmed him? They did not because they were waiting for us. And when I visited the man came alive. It’s God’s work.”
Some medical experts, however, maintained that Otene could not have died in the first place and that the question of resurrection was out of the question.
Dr. Ameh Edace, Makurdi-based medical doctor, said the man must have been in a long coma.
“He was in a long coma if he came back to life before embalmment,” he explained.
Also speaking, the Medical Director of Rekiya Memorial Hospital, Kaduna, Dr. Bello Mohammed, argued that in the history of medicine, there has not been any case of anybody coming back to life after being certified dead.
“It is not possible but when you talk of miracle, that is a different thing altogether because with miracle, anything can happen.
“But if a person is pronounced clinically dead, he remains dead and there is no way he can come back to life, certainly, not after 24 hours. For this case in question, the only medical explanation is that the patient was in a long coma.
“If a doctor had certified the patient dead, then the competence of that doctor should be questioned. For sure, there is something wrong with the death certification”, he said.

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