*Attempt to Scuttle Burial Averted …2nd Son
From Nweke Nweke, Awka
There is unwanted controversy surrounding the alleged unidentified way about of the corpse of 88-year-old Ogbueshi(Octogenarian), late Pa Isaac Uchenna Chigbo from the family of Chigbo Akunnia of Umuoraeso sub-family of Umuokwasala kindred, Umuota village Obosi, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State against the claim of the second surviving son of the octogenarian, Mr. Gideon Chukwudi Chigbo who told media practitioners that their father was duly buried in accordance with the Obosi tradition and culture.
According to the daughter of the late octogenarian, Mrs. Joy Okafor, “our father who is an octogenarian and a widower before his death on Novenber 3, 2016 was in protracted illness for several months and I alone cared for him singlehandedly without Mr. Gideon Chikwudi Chigbo who is the second surviving son of our father stepping his feet as to know his health condition before his death.
“Immediately the octogenarian gave up the ghost in our house on the faithful day, I then alerted my brother, Mr. Gideon Chikwudi Chigbo as the handyman in our house regardless of the fact that he was only waiting to hear the news of the death of our father.
“On his arrival, he came with a medical practitioner who came and confirmed the death of our father and both him, one of our uncles including myself took the remains of our father to St. Edward Mortuary, Obosi for deposition while others of our siblings both at home and in diaspora were duly informed of the development”. Joy stated.
On what generated their differences, Mrs. Joy Okafor who is a teacher at Obosi Central School said she fell apart with her brother (Gideon Chukwudi Chigbo) when the man allegedly planned to usurp the position of the first surviving son of the late octogenarian, Architect Charles Chigbo who is on sick bed at his Enugu residence as at the time of filling this report.
“In his bid to take over the position of our surviving elder brother, Architect Charles Chigbo who is still alive just because he is on sick bed and based at Enugu, Mr. Gideon Chukwudi Chigbo with his clicks in our family, went to the mortuary and took away the remains of our late father to unknown destination without reaching out to all the rest children of late father.
On what might have occasioned the decision of the graduate of Banking and Finance, lecturing in School of Nursing to allegedly removed the corpse of their late father to unknown destination, Mrs. Joy Okafor alleged that her brother was out to sack her and her children from their family compound and at the same time, acquire the entire property of their father hence she cried out for justice.
Accusing her brother for having attempted to murder her for having insisted that the right thing must be done in their family, Joy Okafor who is the first daughter of the late octogenarian told our correspondent that Mr. Chukwudi Chigbo had on certain day invaded her room apartment with pump action gun at odd hours where he allegedly shot at the ceiling with threats to kill his own sister and her children should she venture to question his action towards the burial of their father.
Regretting that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Obosi Police Station, CSP Chinedu Ugwu allegedly compromised the case of threats to the lives of Joy Okafor and her children by Chibros as he is fondly called by his admires, the woman said she reported the alleged threatening their lives with pump action gun to the police but instead of the DPO to charge the suspect to court of competent jurisdiction even after allegedly recovering the gun from the suspect, CSP Chinedu Ugwu is said to have exchanged the alleged crime with ‘Ghana Must Go Bag’ in the alleged favour of the suspect.
“Having noted that the DPO and my brother are paddies in corruption, I then went to AIG Zone 9, Umuahia and when policemen from Zone 9 came and arrested Mr. Gideon Chukwudi Chigbo, the DPO of Obosi Police Station intervened and released him without allowing the Zone 9 policemen to do their job”. Joy alleged with tears rolling down her chest.
Dusting the allegations levelled against him by his sister when contacted, Mr. Gideon Chukwudi Chigbo accused his sister of having been the problem in their family. Chibros as he is fondly called by his admires went further and accused the classroom teacher of having abandoned her marriage for the past eighteen years now only to settle down in her place of birth, aimed at dragging the property with the male children of the deceased octogenarian.
Commenting on the way about of the corpse of their father, Mr. Chukwudi Chigbo confirmed that the man was buried at night against the Obosi tradition and culture, this according to him was to avert the alleged planning to steal the corpse by his sister and her clicks, noting that the burial date of their father was duly fixed for a certain date and all the people concerned were communicated accordingly, including the maternal parents of their late father.
“But as a woman who is out for something, she wanted the burial to be at her own convenient date and time too even when the eldest man in our family who is incidentally our uncle, Ogbueshi Claab Chigbo and the rest members of our family had approved the date for the burial.
“Having planned to whisky me away with police from Zone 9, Umuahia, having failed in her various attempts to scuttle the burial arrangements, I was hinted that she was working with a certain wealthy men who are distant family members of our family to hijack the burial of our late father hence I decided otherwise.
“As a result of the fact that Joy and her cohorts had planned to steal the corpse of our father from the mortuary, I and the rest members of our family decided to burial our father earlier than the time fixed for the burial and on the earlier hours of January 6, 2017, hoodlums hired by my sister and her sponsors invaded our house with the full intention to steal the corpse of my father, unfortunately for them and fortunately for me, we had buried our father at night before the day break”.
Collaborating the claims of Mr. Gideon Chukwudi Chigbo, the eldest man in Chigbo’s family, Ogbueshi Claab Chigbo, Mr. Ifeanyi Ndefo who claimed to be representing the maternal parents of late Pa Ogbueshi Isaac Chigbo and the Diokpa (eldest son) of Umuoraeso sub-family of Umuokwasala kindred, Umuota village Obosi, Mr. John Nwaobosi said they are standing by the alleged taboo said to was committed by the second surviving son of the octogenarian even as they dismissed the alleged burying the octogenarian at night as sacrilege.
