Brothers disown Catholic burial; exhume sibling’s body for “proper” traditional rites

The age long conflict between Christianity and tradition played out in a bizarre fashion in Enugu State recently when the body of a man was exhumed by his siblings and put in a mortuary for one month as they planned a “proper traditional burial for him”

The deceased, identified as Agu, had been buried in his hometown, Egede, in Udi Local government Area of the State, according to funeral rites of the Catholic Church which he attended with his wife.

But his brothers who were not in support of the Christian burial, argued that their brother had not been buried properly as tradition demanded. They then went ahead to exhume the body and put and give it the kind of burial they desired.

One of the men, Chibuzo said: "Our brother was not buried properly according to our norms and traditions. His wife connived with some group of people to bury our brother like a fowl."

Feelers from residents who know the family well indicated that the relationship between Agu’s wife and her in-laws had been hostile even before Agu’s demise. That, sources said, prompted her to bury her husband without carrying them along.

But it was believed in some quarters that the threats and pressure from the in-laws drove the widow to take her decision.

Unconfirmed sources however disclosed that the brothers, five of them, had been excommunicated from the Catholic Community for their action.