A young widow from Ekwulobia, in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, Mrs Chikodili Okeke, has cried out for help to the state government to save her from the intimidation and frustration she is suffering from her late husband’s kinsmen over her refusal to engage in sexual affairs with some of them.
The widow appealed passionately when she appeared before the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare at the Ministry’s headquarters in Awka.
The case, bordering on alleged tormenting and seizure of the widow’s late husband’s property, was reported to the Ministry by the widow herself.
Narrating her ordeal to the Commissioner, the widow said her late husband, Mr. Christopher Okeke, who became critically sick while in Sierra Leone, was brought down to Nigeria for treatment. During his treatment, some of his kinsmen began to interlope and interfere in his healthcare.
She revealed that they started by inviting her to their kinsmen meeting, where she was accused of not informing them officially that her husband was sick, after which they banned her from everything concerning her husband’s healthcare.
According to her, some of the kinsmen restricted her from visiting or attending to him in the hospital where he was receiving treatment, claiming that the doctor informed them that the sickness usually got worse each time she visited.
She said that after that, the people and her husband’s sister bribed and conspired with the doctor treating him and smuggled him out of the hospital to an unknown destination.
Mrs Okeke, however, explained that police from the Zone 13 Ukpo intervened after she reported the matter to them and also made some arrests, including the doctor, who then confessed that the people bribed him with N100,000 to lie that the wife’s presence was worsening the husband’s health condition.
The widow, who recounted how her husband eventually died in a sickbed, further noted that after his demise, the people began to torment and frustrate her even more, making conditions worse for her and her children.
“Apart from the fact that the people did not contribute a dime to my husband’s burial, the kinsmen and my husband’s sister also denied me access to most of my husband’s property, including houses and shops where he has tenants, to the point that feeding and paying my children’s school fees became very difficult.
“My husband’s sister, as well as one Mr. Okorocha and Mr. Ezenwankwo, were among the backbones of my ordeal, stirring up others in championing and facilitating my frustration.
“The people went to the extent of bringing back the ex-wife of my husband’s father who was divorced many years ago and who bore no child before leaving, inviting her over to come and take over and occupy the majority of the property of my husband,” she lamented.
Continuing, the widow said when she approached one of the husband’s kinsmen, Mr. Okorocha, and asked him why they were frustrating and making life more difficult for her and her children, he reminded her of his earlier request for her to allow him to suck her breast, and which she refused to do.
She said the kinsman had informed her allowing him to suck her breast was the only solution to all her problems, while some other kinsmen she approached also requested her to allow them to have sexual affairs with her, which she also turned down.
She further revealed that the people equally vowed to her hearing that she could only have rest if she granted their requests.
According to her, while she declined to grant their requests, their frustration continued, necessitating the involvement of the state government for intervention.
Mrs. Okeke’s narrative was corroborated by some villagers, who also witnessed the stories and recounted their efforts to intervene, which also proved unsuccessful.
Responding, the State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs. Ify Obinabo, condemned the acts as pure wickedness and ill-conceived, contradictory to the Igbo cultural values and against what Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration stands for.
The Commissioner, who was visibly angry about the report, also assured that the state government must investigate and ensure justice is served while the culprits face the full weight of the law.
