By Ikeugonna Eleke
Isuaniocha Community in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Friday, May 29, exhumed the corpse of an unidentified middle aged man, an indigene of Awka, who was buried in an empty parcel of land (in Isuaniocha).
The deceased, Fides learnt, even though an indigene of Awka Community, had bought a land in Isuaniocha, and upon his death, his corpse was taken to Isuaniocha and buried in the land.
A source from Awka Community who simply identified himself as Romanus, who also accompanied the corpse for burial on the land, said after they had buried the body and made to disperse, they were accosted by youths of Isuaniocha Community who demanded for N150, 000 as burial levy and threatened to exhume the body if the money was not paid.
‘We told them the land belonged to the deceased, and that if he had developed and lived in it before his death, he could as well be buried in his home, but since the plot of land was yet to be developed, we buried him in the land, which is his.
‘They refused and insisted that they must collect money from us, whether the land belonged to the deceased or not. Before long, they exhumed the body from the grave and dumped it on the land and also attacked us with dangerous weapons.
‘We had to run back to our community to report to our leaders. Our community leaders have also reported to the police who have promised to accompany us to the place to rebury the corpse,’ he said.
Romanus said that most of those who went for the burial were wounded by the rampaging youths, including an unnamed pastor who preached at the graveside of the deceased before the burial.
‘He was macheted by one of the youths, and has been taken to hospital for proper treatment. We have never seen a thing like that before, because Awka and Isuaniocha people are neighbours,’ Romanus said.
When Fides reached out to the police public relations officer of the Anambra State Police command, SP Haruna, for reactions, his phone line was not reachable.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that some security men later accompanied indigenes of Awka to the burial site where they reburied the corpse.
