A serious controversy is trailing the burial of the late Dr. Ifeanyi Nwobodo jnr., the first son of Senator Jim Nwobodo, as his corpse was missing on Friday.
Nwobodo jnr. died about three weeks ago and was billed to be buried on Friday at his father’s country home, Amechi Awkunanaw, near Enugu but when the corpse was to be taken for burial it was nowhere to be found.
late Dr. Ifeanyi Nwobodo jnr
It was gathered that the missing corpse might not be unconnected with a disagreement between Sen. Nwobodo and the siblings of the deceased over the location of his grave.
Nwobodo, who was Second Republic Governor of old Anambra State, reportedly built a bungalow for his first son immediately after his death and ordered that his remains should be buried within the compound, in line with Igbo tradition that a first son, who dies before the father, disinherits his inheritance.
But the siblings of the deceased insisted that their brother must be buried in their father’s compound and not the house hurriedly built for him after his death.
The kinsmen of the senator were said to have pitched their tent with the children, against their father who allegedly wants his second wife to inherit his country home.
The deceased was an offspring of Senator Nwobodo’s estranged first wife, Mrs. Mukosolu Nwobodo.
Although the family initially concealed disagreement over the burial, the matter came to the open when dignitaries and other sympathisers gathered in Nwobodo’s country home for the funeral and discovered that the corpse was missing.
Among the dignitaries were Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; Senators Chris Ngige and Gilbert Nnaji, former Imo State Governor, Achike Udenwa; former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, and former Information and Communication Minister, Frank Nweke jnr.
The dignitaries attempted to mediate in the dispute, but both parties in the disagreement refused to shift grounds.
Even the intervention of the Anglican Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma, who accepted to bury the deceased at nearby St. Mathew’s Anglican Church, yielded no result.
Nwobodo’s children told the Bishop to forget the idea of burying their brother in the church, saying that his remains must rest in their father’s compound.
Following the development, the funeral could nots as dignitaries and other sympathisers dispersed.
A kinsman of Nwobodo, who spoke with our correspondent, said that since the senator does not want his son to be buried in his compound, let him hands of the burial and allow the community to handle it the way they want.
As at 5.30 p.m. on Friday, the whereabouts of the corpse was unknown, although unconfirmed sources said it was most likely that his siblings took away the corpse to embarrass their father
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