By NewsCritic Reporters
Umuoriehi village in Isingwu autonomous community, Umuahia North Local Government Area, LGA, of Abia State was this morning of Saturday May 23rd, 2020 thrown into a shock as villagers woke up to behold the gory sight of the corpse of 82-year old Smart Chukwuma Isiuwa exhumed just one week after it was buried by the family.
The exhumed corpse was dropped on the ground exposing the body of the deceased which has started to decay, while the grave was also covered back by the unknown men. According to investigations by NewsCritic, the action was carried out last night under the cover of darkness, while the children of the deceased were inside the compound fast asleep.
When this reporter visited the scene of the incident this morning, villagers and sympathisers were seen in clusters discussing in hush tones the ugly incident that took place last night in the community and the implications.
One of the sons of the late Smart Isiuwa whose corpse was exhumed, Ebere Isiuwa, was in shock when this reporter visited. He said that they woke up this morning to discover that the corpse of their father has been exhumed and the grave covered by unknown men.
He said the incident must not be unconnected to the land dispute between his father and his late brother Ezekwem Isiuwa’s children over the ownership of the compound where the late Isiuwa was buried. Ebere disclosed that his father who is a member of Jehovah witness suffered greatly in the hands of his brothers to the extent that they allegedly sold all the family lands without his knowledge.
Ebere who is also the vice chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Isingwu ward lamented that it was last week Thursday that the family buried his father after obtaining clearance from the government, only for enemies to come in the middle of the night to exhume the corpse and expose the corpse.
When asked his next line of action, he said he is waiting for his senior brother to return so as to rebury their father, ruling out any form of sacrifice in the process because, according to him his father is not that type but a firm believer in God.
He accused the Chairman of Umuoriehi Welfare Union, Pastor Kensmart and the leader of the community vigilante, Chief Orisa Onwwumere of being behind the plot to exhume the father’s corpse.
Investigations by NewsCritic revealed that the corpse of the late Smart Isiuwa spent over a year in the mortuary before it was finally buried quietly last week in the family compound. It was further gathered that before it was buried at the present location, there were attempt to bury him at several spaces which was resisted and that about three graves were covered after digging it.
The NewsCritic reports that Umuoriehi Isingwu has been in the news lately for the wrong reasons. For instance, only last month, one elder from the Ekpo family and his son were caught in the middle of the night burying charms in a disputed piece of land. They were apprehended and brought before the village square.
Sources disclosed that in the event that the late Smart Isiuwa is reburied at the compound the corpse will be exhumed the second time, but the children said God knows why he made them to sleep off and not to catch the perpetrators of the dastardly act because it would have been a different story now.
