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From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Mr. Ugochukwu Okeke-Ezeukwu is a troubled man. His wife of 20 years, Uju, nee Ezekwuche, died in May 2020 after a brief illness.
But the remains of the 38-year-old housewife have not been able to rest. Her body, with mortuary pass 410, is still lying at Beke Memorial Hospital, Nimo, in Anambra State.
Hence, Mr. Okeke-Ezeukwu, a farmer in Issele-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, has not known peace since.
The father of six, who hails from Ozzuh-Umunachi in Dinukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State, alleged that attempts to bury his late wife on November 6, 2020, were resisted by his in-laws.
According to him, the body was taken from the mortuary in Issele-Uku to Akpu village, Abagana, in Anambra State, for interment but the late wife’s relatives allegedly seized the body and held some members of the mourning entourage hostage.
Narrating his ordeal to our correspondent in Asaba, Okeke-Ezeukwu said his in-laws are accusing him of being responsible for the death of their daughter despite his explanation that the woman died after being sick for one week.
“My wife died during COVID-19 on May 17, 2020, if I am not mistaken. She was sick for one week. When she died, I tried to call my in-laws to tell them how she died, they said, if I had succeeded in killing her, that I should bring her body home.
“I didn’t understand them till when I got home. I tried to narrate what happened, that was when the whole thing started. My in-laws are angry because they are questioning the nature of death, that I am responsible for her death.
“I explained to them that I did not kill her and never invited anybody to kill her. That was the genesis of the problem. We tried to reason with them but to no avail,” he said.
Okeke-Ezeukwu said after the initial approach to formally inform his wife’s family of the unfortunate incident, he kept meeting with them to finalise plans for the burial, adding that they agreed on November 6, 2020.
His words: “Normally, when a wife dies, you consult her parents and that was the first thing I did, according to tradition but that was when the problem started. They were accusing me of killing her. We have been going.
“On November 6, 2020, we reconciled everything to bury my late wife. I have to settle the mortuary bills at Eli Hospital, Issele-Uku, it was over N100,000. Then we took the body to their village which is the normal thing.
“But when we got there, they siezed the body and those who came with me – the pastor, the assistant pastor and other guests. They later released the people late in the night.
“They damaged the ambulance which I later spent money to fix. I bought clothes for those whose clothes were torn during the attack. They broke the recording camera which we hired and I paid N110,000 to fix it.
“My church women did not leave there with their complete clothing. They later took the body to another mortuary and forced my first son to sign, and they issued the tag number.
“Since then, I have been reaching out to the family but each time I go there, they will tell me to go back. I usually go there during festive period, and they will tell me to go back that they are not ready.
“My brother in Port Harcourt called to know what the issues were, they said it was not a matter of money. They said they want to consult the oracle after which they would call. That is where we are but I am very worried.”
At the moment, Mr. Okeke-Ezeukwu is at a fix. While his relatives and friends are urging him to abandon the body of his wife at Abagana, his children are mounting pressures that their mother must be properly buried.
But if he was to take the option of burying the woman amid unsettled scores with the in-laws, Ezeukwu said he does not have money to executive the burial plans. According to him, those who assisted in the botch burial were discouraged by the action of the in-laws on November 6, 2020.
“I don’t have money for burial anymore. The people who assisted me before said they are no longer willing to help because of the way they were treated.
“My relatives have abandoned me to my fate, asking me to leave the body at Abagana but my children insist that their mother must be given proper burial. I am therefore soliciting for financial assistance,” he pleaded.
Going down memory lane, Ezeukwu said when he married his late wife in 2000, they secured the consent and blessing of both families in the union. He added that somewhere along the line, the wife had issues with his own parents in the village.
He said as a result of the unresolved issues, he took his wife out of the family home in the village and brought her to Issele-Uku.
