• How woman who died in auto accident was buried in two states
• Man whose wife’s body was seized by in-laws laments: It’s my greatest nightmare
From Wilson Okereke, Afikpo
A young man from Umuoru in Oriuzo Community, Ezza North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Maduabuchi Oyota is in a quandary. The young man, whose late wife’s body was reportedly seized and buried by his in-laws in Anambra State, has said the alleged maltreatment remains his worst nightmare.
Oyota, 31, an agro-chemicals dealer in Ilorin, Kwara State, wedded his deceased spouse, Mrs. Faith Uzochukwu Oyota, aged 23, in 2019.
Faith’s family lived in Ilorin where her father was a businessman until he died recently. While Mr. Oyota, his immediate family members and other relatives, were returning to Ebonyi State after the burial of his father-in-law at Oba-Ofemmili on August 23, 2023, the bus they travelled in had a fatal accident somewhere in Enugu State.
Oyota’s wife, the four months old daughter, Chidinma, and the driver of the commercial vehicle, Damian Awuru, lost their lives.
Saturday Sun learnt that besides the three persons who died on the spot, eight other occupants of the ill-fated bus, including Mr. Oyota, his siblings-Nkeiru and Ikechukwu, as well as Uchenna Okpoku and others sustained various degree of injuries.
After due consultations with their in-laws, the Oyotas of Ebonyi State picked September 28, 2023 for the burial of their wife. While preparations were going on, the in-laws asked that as a matter of tradition, the body of their daughter should be brought to the father’s compound for them to see it for the last time.
In line with the wish of the in-laws, the lady’s body was taken to Oba-Ofemmili in Awka North area of Anambra State where she hailed from.
Meanwhile, at the Oyotas’ compound in Oriuzor, Ezza North LGA of Ebonyi State, every preparation was in top gear. The youths of the area were on hand to dig the grave in anticipation of the body. The bereaved man and his other family members alongside guests waited patiently for the body of their wife to be returned from the in-laws’ place. As the clock ticked, the dusk drew nearer, yet there was no sign of their emissary to Anambra returning with body of their late wife. Little did they know that they had been tricked as the body of the deceased lady was eventually buried in her father’s compound.
The widower said that he was not indebted to his in-laws in any manner as he fulfilled all the marriage rites in accordance with the tradition of Oba-Ofemmili people. It was, therefore, a huge shock to him that his in-laws tricked him and buried his wife in Anambra after humiliating his kinsmen.
“My father-in-law popularly known as Estobase alongside his family was staying in Ilorin before he fell sick and his health was managed for a long time before he died at the General Hospital there.
“During the man’s burial in Anambra, I played my part as his first son-in-law in such a way that other members of the bereaved family were commending me without knowing that another calamity would befall me,” he said.
The devastated man said besides notifying his mother-in-law, Mrs Nnenna Nneama and others, shortly after the ugly development, he equally visited the home two times and intimated the people about the burial arrangement slated for September 28.
He stated that he did not have the slightest inkling that the in-laws’ request for the late wife’s remains to be brought to their place according to their custom, was a ploy to seize and bury the woman’s body there.
“Before now, the people had given me the burial list that contained 53 tubers of yam, a goat, six cartons of beer, two bottles of Seaman Schnapps, cash of N6,000 in place of smoked fish and other numerous items.
“But we later agreed to monetize all the items and I paid them a total of N400,000. Besides, I had paid N150,000 and N65,000 for the mortuary and ambulance services respectively, only for my relatives to get there and encounter the highest embarrassment of their lives,” he said.
Oyota alleged that before the five persons that represented his family in the journey to Oba-Ofemmili could arrive, his in-laws had concluded all the preparations concerning his wife’s burial.
He said that it was such an evil arrangement that fierce-looking youths of the village forced his representatives to be part of the funeral. He expressed surprise on how he was maltreated by the people who were supposed to be his source of comfort in his most harrowing moment.
Oyota claimed that the youth did not stop at seizing their visitors; they also compelled them to provide Oba-Ofemmili people with six crates of beer and other items amounting to N36,000 before they were eventually allowed to go in the evening.
But when those waiting for the body to be returned to Ebonyi heard that their Oba-Ofemmili in-laws had interred the remains of the deceased, initially, there was apprehension particularly as a grave was already prepared for her there.
Saturday Sun was told that the community members quickly put heads together and decided to “bury our wife in the resting place we made for her.” So, they assembled the clothes she donned at the time of the accident as well as her shoes and jewelleries and buried them there.
“My travail in the hands of my in-laws is not a child’s play. I don’t know why they were discriminative against me because I am a non-indigene,” he said.
A member of the delegation from Ebonyi to Anambra State who would not want to be named told Saturday Sun that their in-laws were very hostile to them without considering that the tragedy was remotely caused by the death of their own brother, Estobase. He noted that their wife, alongside her daughter, might still have been alive if not that they went for the father’s burial.
He said: “The trip was so terrible that we began to contemplate if we could survive the journey but I thank God that we eventually came out alive after undergoing all forms of humiliations and life threats from the youths of the area.”
Reacting, Oyota’s mother-in-law, Mrs. Nnenna Nneama, who spoke with Saturday Sun on phone, simply said that the issue of seizing the body of her late daughter initially caused serious debate among their people but at the end, the villagers settled for burying her remains in her father’s village.
Another family member simply identified as Friday when contacted on phone declined to comment once the issue was mentioned.
While Oyota contends with early widowerhood, it was gathered that a streak of misfortunes had befallen him in recent times. His shop had been allegedly demolished by the development control in Ilorin, Kwara State, prior to the death of his father-in-law, young spouse and little daughter.