Three sisters have allegedly seized and refused to release the corpse of their late brother, one Mr. Ernest, to his wife and children, for a period of five years now and still counting.
The incident happened in Nibo, Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State, where the three sisters and their late brother hailed from.
It was also gathered that the three sisters, who operate a prayer ministry, also seized up the entire property of the late brother and denied the wife her children access to them, since 2019 when the deceased died after a protracted illness caused by accident.
Recounting their ordeal at the State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare in Awka, where they reported the case for government’s intervention, the wife and the only surviving son of the deceased said they were also denied access to him when he was still alive and critically ill, as the sisters allegedly took him away to the area where they have their prayer centre.
They also lamented that since Ernest was said to have died, that they have been making efforts to see and bury his corpse, all to no avail, as the three sisters seized up everything, including his corpse and property, denying them access to them.
This was also corroborated by a younger brother of the deceased, who also recounted how the three sisters have been a torn on their flesh of the family members and anyone who dares to correct or oppose them and their atrocities.
While noting that two of the women are married out, while one is not; the deceased’s brother said her married sisters would always come from their husbands’ houses and team up with the unmarried one to control or interfere in the affairs of the family, which, he said made them to be notorious for their troublesome lifestyle, even to the point that three of them were suspended by the kindred and the Ụmụada.
When interrogated, one of the three sisters, simply identified as Mrs. Augustina, claimed that the corpse and the property of their late brother were held by them because he was not in good terms with the wife and children when he was alive, which made them to deny them access to his corpse and property.
Arbitrating the matter, the State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs. Ify Obinabo, directed the three sisters to hand over and allow the son of the deceased to have full control of his father’s corpse and property, so that he would be buried.
She also warned against meddlesomeness of some people who interfere in marital and private lives of their relatives or seize someone’s corpse and property when s/he dies. She stressed that anyone found wanting or violating any law of the state must be made to face the law, as, according to her, Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s government has zero tolerance for lawlessness in the state.
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By Izunna Okafor, Awka
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