A 34-year-old widow, Chioma Asomugha from Ubahuekwem in the Ihiala area of Anambra, has raised the alarm that her in-laws were forcing her to drink water used in bathing her dead husband’s corpse.
Speaking with NAN in Awka , Asomugha alleged that the brothers of Charles, her late husband, said she must drink the water to prove that she was not responsible for her husband’s death.
The widow, who stated that she lived with her late husband in Lagos before his death, however, added that she would not do it.
“I have four children with my husband and we lived at Ajangbadi in Ojo area of Lagos before his demise,” she said.
“The burial is fixed for Monday, June 14, but since we came home for the burial, the relatives of my husband forced me out of my matrimonial home.
“They insisted that before I will be allowed to come in, I will drink the water used in bathing my late husband’s corpse.”
Asomugha said she has reported the case to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Awka with a view to resolving the matter.
Laura Ugwuanyi, the coordinator of NHRC in the state, who confirmed the report, described it as obnoxious.
She said efforts made to handle the matter did not yield positive results as the family members were not cooperating.
