The Akwa Ibom State Government has criminalised the use of ambulances to transport corpses for burial across the state.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Ekem John, announced the new measure during the Ministry of Information’s monthly media briefing organised by the Ministry of Information on Thursday, August 27, 2026.
John said the regulation applies to all ambulances, whether privately owned, operated by religious missions or owned by the government. He warned that any ambulance caught conveying a corpse could be impounded.
“His Excellency has now institutionalised the Akwa Ibom State Emergency Medical Service Ambulance System, which is one of the most audacious introductions in the health sector in the state. It started as a policy, but it is now an agency established by law.
“Through this law, the state government has now criminalised and outlawed the use of ambulances to carry corpses. In the last one year and six months under the reforms of His Excellency, Governor Umo Eno, we have returned our ambulance operations to the level found in the Western world.
“You will not find any government ambulance at any burial site. The law is very clear: whether it is a privately owned ambulance, mission ambulance, or government ambulance, you cannot carry corpses. Corpses are carried by hearses, and when you now use our ambulance to carry corpses, you are creating a public health threat to the rest of the public.
The commissioner disclosed that about nine health-related bills had been forwarded to the State House of Assembly for consideration and passage into law. The proposed legislation covers areas including hospital governance, public health security, HIV prevention, protection and anti-discrimination, as well as public health standards and regulations.
He explained that once the health standards regulatory bills are enacted, the relevant agency would have the authority to prescribe and enforce minimum standards for all health facilities across the state.
He added that hospitals and other healthcare facilities would be required to meet specified regulatory requirements before they could commence operations in the state.