By Izunna Okafor, Awka
The wife of Mr. Joseph Ezenwegbu, the assassinated Ward 1 Chairman of the Young People’s Party (YPP) in Nanka, Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Mrs. Angel Ezenwegbu, has said she still finds it difficult to believe that her husband is dead.
Mrs. Ezenwegbu disclosed this in an interview with this reporter, Izunna Okafor, on her views concerning the circumstances surrounding her husband’s mysterious death, the ongoing police investigation on the matter, and the sudden fixture of her husband’s burial.
Recall that Mr. Ezenwegbu (popularly known as Joe Mohale) was shot dead by a group of masked men on the evening of Saturday, November 11, 2023, a few minutes after he organised a meeting between the party faithful in Nanka and the member representing Orumba North and South Federal Constituency, Hon. Princess Chinwe Nnabuife, who earlier received death threats from unidentified persons warning her not to come into Nanka again.
Recall also that shortly after the incident, the operatives of the Anambra State Police Command swung into action to investigate and hunt down the masterminds and perpetrators of the gruesome murder. But as the investigation is ongoing, and barely ten days after the assassination, the burial poster of the deceased started trending, and went viral on the social media.
The poster, which was signed by the elder brother to the deceased, Mr. N.C. Ezenwegbu, says the 60-year-old father of one will be buried at his compound in Etti village, Nanka, on Friday, December 15, 2023, after a wake keep the preceding night.
Speaking with this reporter on Wednesday, the wife of the deceased, who said although the sudden fixture of the burial was suggested by a member of the family, however, acknowledged that the fixture was in her best interest.
According to her, she and her only child had been battling with emotions and grief since after the incident and cannot afford to carry over the grief to next year, hence their acceptance of the sudden fixture of the burial. She added that the death was a sudden one and that the burial also ought to be done suddenly as prolonging the burial will amount to prolonging their grief.
“As I’m talking to you now, I can’t even still believe that my husband is dead. It still appears like a dream to me. But each time I sleep and wake up, I see that it is nothing short of reality, and my sorrow continues to linger.
“Judging from the emotional trauma I have been passing through since the incident occurred, especially while beholding the corpse of my husband in the mortuary, I cannot afford to have his corpse lying there in the mortuary while I celebrate Christmas or cross over to the new year with joy; the joy will definitely not be complete. So these are part of the reasons why I accepted that the burial be done as soon as possible,” she explained.
She further dismissed the speculation that burying her husband will affect the investigation being conducted on the matter by the police; even as she reiterated her confidence in the ability of the police to hunt down and unravel the identities of those behind the assassination of her husband.
“We have already gotten every necessary medical report and document from the hospital. Besides, it is known to everyone that he was shot dead; and so there is no need for autopsy. So, what else could be the reason for the delay of his burial?” she wondered.
Asked if she had any suspicion that his husband’s assassination has any political undertone, Mrs. Ezenwegbu, who is also a lawyer said it was not left for her to say whether the death had some political undertones or not, but rather, the outcome of police investigation will answer the question.
While expressing optimism that the identities of those behind the heartbreaking murder will definitely be unraveled, she said she had also been praying to God to expose those behind ugly act and also make them not to have rest or peace of mind.
Asked if she wanted her husband’s soul to rest or go after those who killed him, the widow said: “Vengeance is of the Lord; the battle belongs to God. So, I wish my husband’s soul a peaceful rest. I don’t know the one I will say they will come after me and my son. So, let God himself fight the battle for him and grant his soul eternal rest.
Mrs. Ezenwegbu attested that some stakeholders and political figures had visited and commiserated with her and her only child since the incident occurred, including Hon. Princess Chinwe Nnabuife, the lawmaker whom her husband organised a meeting for (ahead of a forthcoming re-run election in the community) before he was killed. She, however, prayed God not to allow her husband’s death and the spillage of his blood on the land of Nanka to be in vain; even as she prayed God to hear her cry and grant Hon. Nnabuife victory in the re-run election.
Recall that the murderers of Mr. Ezenwegbu called him ‘sabo’ (saboteur) three times before they shot him.
The widow, however, described her late husband as a very social, forgiving, and easy-going person, adding that he always stood for truth justice, and hated seeing people intimidate others, irrespective of who is involved.
Nobody Has Right to Question Me on the Timing of My Brother’s Burial — Deceased’s Elder Brother
Meanwhile when similarly contacted for his own views on the circumstances surrounding his brother’s death, the ongoing police investigation on the matter, and the sudden fixture of his burial; the elder brother to the deceased who signed the viral burial poster, Mr. N.C. Ezenwegbu, who sounded antagonistic on the phone, ended up declining to comment or respond to the questions asked by this reporter, Izunna Okafor.
Mr. Ezenwegbu, who initially told this reporter to come to his residence at Onitsha to ask him the question, surprisingly made U-turn and started quarrelling in a hash tone, shouting that nobody has any right to ask him any questions about the fixture of his brother’s burial.
“In fact, what are you even coming to my place to do? To interview me about my brother’s death and his forthcoming burial? Nobody has any right to question me about those things. You don’t have any rights to question me about my brother’s death and the fixture of his burial. Nobody has the right to ask me that kind of question, except you’re the one that killed him. In fact, don’t ever call this number again. Don’t you ever!” he said in Igbo language, while also hissing and hanging up the call.
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