BODY OF FORMER AMERICAN BASED NEURORADIOLOGIST DR SUNDAY CHINWUBA EXHUMED DUE TO DISAGREEMENT OVER BURIAL RITES

Deep crisis is tearing apart the family of Chinwuba from Umubele village, Awka in Anambra State, following a misunderstanding which arose after some members of the family exhumed the corpse of one of their sons, Dr. Sunday Chinwuba who died in far away United States of America (USA).

The late Dr. Sunday Chinwuba had died in his Maryland residence few months ago and the US authorities flew his corpse back to Nigeria and handed it over to his immediate elder brother, Mr. Goddy Chinwuba together with all necessary documents relating to the transfer of his corpse.

Sources said on receiving the corpse and the documents with which it was transferred from Maryland to Nigeria, the bereaved elder brother, Goddy immediately arranged the burial of the remains without consultations and mutual agreement with other members of the family.

It was gathered that after all the arrangements, Goddy removed the corpse from Regina Caeli Hospital Mortuary, Awka, where it was initially deposited and buried it in the family compound there in Awka.   But few days after the burial, the head of the family, Dr. Aneze Chinwuba and other members of the family who claimed that they were not consulted before the burial, rallied round, exhumed the corpse and re-deposited it at an unknown place, pending when another formal burial would be carried out, after proper arrangement.

The source further hinted that when Goddy Chinwuba, who

conducted the first burial discovered that the corpse had been exhumed, he called in the Police from the state command who invited Aneze Chinwuba and five other members of the family for interrogation over their role in exhumation of the corpse.

Claims and counter-claims

Confirming the incident, Mr Goddy Chinwuba told Crime Guard that the deceased only son, Master Chinwuba had authorized him in writing to bury the corpse without consulting the family head, Dr. Aneze Chinwuba and other elder brothers due to a lingering dispute in the family.   But in his reaction, the eldest son of the Chinwuba family, Dr. Aneze Chinwuba claimed that he exhumed the corpse of the deceased because Goddy Chinwuba, his younger brother, had no right to effect a burial of their brother, without his consent or knowledge.

According to him, “Goddy, my younger brother has no authority to bury our younger brother without my knowledge, consent and the participation of other members of the family. I am the head of this family and the custom and tradition of Awka do not permit any other family member to single- highhandedly bury the corpse without reference to other members of the family and myself in particular as the head of the family,”

Dr. Chinwuba further stated that the deceased, Sunday Chinwuba had no son, adding that his eldest daughter, Nneka Chidoka authorized the Chairman of the village meeting, Arch Ifejika to take possession of their late father’s corpse on arrival in Awka pending full burial arrangement.

Reacting to the development, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Emeka Chukwuemeka (DSP), told Crime Guard that although he was not yet aware of the incident, he would make  necessary inquiries from some police formations to find out the actual position on the matter.

Source-Vanguard