“Time to get a DIY mortuary at home”, “people can no longer rest in peace” — these are some of the reactions trailing the N40 daily mortuary tax by the Enugu state government.
On Saturday, Emmanuel Nnamani, chair of the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS), said the state would begin enforcing the tax to discourage prolonged corpse storage in morgues.
Nnamani spoke in response to a circular dated September 17, 2024, which outlines the implementation of a mortuary tax in line with section 34 of the Birth, Deaths, and Burials Law Cap 15, revised in the Enugu state laws of 2004.
The circular instructed mortuary attendants to ensure that a fee of N40 is paid daily for corpses that are not buried within 24 hours.
Nnamani said the tax is not new and has been part of the state’s law for years.
Many Nigerians have taken to social media to pass comments on the development.
Shehu Sani, a former Kaduna senator, said: “taxing dead bodies in Enugu finally means people can no longer rest in peace”.
Another X user commented that the government was only trying to “end the situation where corpses are kept in a morgue for months before being buried”.