A man, Chimezie Nduka, has landed in trouble in Lagos State after having lived with 30-year old lady, Glory Joe Effiong, for 7 years without properly getting married to her by paying the bride price to her family.
P.M.EXPRESS reports the lady, Glory, fell sick and eventually died in the man’s house. And when Nduka contacted her family to inform them about her death with burial in view, he received the shock of his life.
The lady’s family accused Nduka of having killed the late Glory and that was why he did not come to the family for proper marriage rites at her home town in Akwa Ibom State.
The family made it clear to Nduka that he must not bury her unless he first fulfills the full marriage rites, pay the bride price on the late Glory and then conduct traditional/wedding ceremony before he will then perform her funeral rites as his wife.
The incident happened at 24 Shomolin Street, Ifako Gbagada, Lagos, where Nduka lived with the late Glory before she died.
The family of the deceased reported to the Police in the area that Nduka killed Glory while they were fighting over her money, dumped her corpse at the mortuary and was planning to bury her without the consent of her family.
When the Police went to arrest Nduka, he ran away, went into hiding and has been at large while the lady’s corpse was dumped at an undisclosed mortuary. The Police are said to be looking for him to come and answer the allegation of murder against him.
Having realized the ugly situation he found himself, Nduka sent emissaries to the Akwa Ibom community in Lagos asking for amicable settlement of the matter so that the deceased will be buried in Lagos State.
During the discussions, the elders of the Akwa Ibom community led by Robert Akpan told Nduka’s emissaries that before the deceased will be buried, Nduka will first pay her bride price, carry her corpse from the mortuary in Lagos to her place in Akwa Ibom for the burial rites.
The elders were said to have given Nduka the option of paying N5m cash to the family, subject to negotiations, which Nduka has offered to pay N200,000 but the lady’s family refused.
P.M.EXPRESS investigations revealed that what the family of the deceased demanded was not abstract because of their customs and tradition, which stated that if a man lives with their daughter without paying her bride price and she dies, the man must get married to the deceased in death.
The elder brother to the deceased, Mr. Benjamin Effiong, explained that the family was not happy with the manner Nduka treated their daughter for those years and he was asked to come and meet with their family to formalize their relationship but he refused.
Mr. Effiong insisted that they were not out to punish Nduka but that the tradition and customs of their community demanded that Nduka must fulfill the marriage rites to avoid calamity in future.
Meanwhile, the Police were said to be looking for Nduka, who is from Anambra State, to answer for the murder charge against him as the corpse of the deceased is still at the mortuary incurring debt.
When Nduka was contacted, he admitted to have lived with the deceased for several years without paying her bride price before she fell sick and he took her to hospitals for treatment before she eventually died.
