Head Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, National Population Commission in Gombe office, Adedeji Adeniyi has dispelled the notion that death Certificate is paid for by Nigerians.
Adeniyi noted that it is unfortunate that some persons collect money in the disguise of processing certificates from families of the deceased.
He made this disclosure on Monday in an interview with our correspondent, amid growing concerns on the cost implications of obtaining proof of death.
A Death Certificate is a legal document issued to families of the deceased, it usually indicates the time and cause of death. It is used to process the belongings or property of the individual in question.
Adeniyi said, “Quote me anywhere, my name is Adedeji Rufai Adeniyi, all those that collected money or charge should be arrested and prosecuted. It is free, irrespective of the age, certificate of death, irrespective of any age, is free. Anybody that says you should bring money, ask the person, are you giving me a receipt? You see, we have bad eggs amongst us, no doubt about that, it is the press we rely on to expose them and let the public know their responsibility.”
Commenting on the rigorous processes of obtaining a death certificate, the NPC official noted that such methods exist because of the implications of issuing such certificates wrongly.
“A death certificate is as simple as a birth certificate. But the issue of death and the situation in Nigeria now, people tend to be funny. There’s been a situation where somebody is still living and they came to collect a death certificate to claim the person’s property.
“It led to a legal battle between the family members. Based on that we are very cautious in giving the certificate. If you know truly you lost somebody, you should be able to go to some extent to prove that truly, you want to have a death certificate for this person,” he said.
