They Buried Me Alive: 70-Year-Old Enugu Man Flees for Safety as Family Cries Out
Chief Innocent Ugwuja, the 70-year-old man whose burial ceremony was conducted in his name while still alive.
By Our Reporter
“Daughter recounts father’s escape through bush to avoid possible attack, seeks urgent intervention from Gov. Mbah, police“
A family in Umabor Eha-Lumona autonomous community, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, has appealed to Governor Peter Mbah, the state police command and other relevant authorities for urgent intervention after community members allegedly held a burial ceremony for their 70-year-old father, Chief Innocent Ugwuja, while he is still alive.
The family said the incident had plunged them into fear and distress, with the situation worsening following an alleged three-day ultimatum issued to Chief Ugwuja’s family and threats to conduct similar burial ceremonies for his wife, Mrs Roseline Ugwuja, and their six children.
The family is now seeking protection, expressing fears for their safety amid an escalating dispute that has reportedly divided relatives and members of the community.
The alleged burial ceremony took place at the community square on Saturday, with youths and some elders accused of organising the event over allegations that Chief Ugwuja was responsible for the illness and other misfortunes affecting members of his extended family.
According to investigation by our reporter the those involved allegedly erected canopies, bought drinks, poured libations, performed rituals and sang dirges and songs directed at the supposed dead, while invoking ancestral spirits to avenge what they described as Chief Ugwuja’s alleged wrongdoing.
Pictures of the 70-year-old man bearing the inscription “RIP” and a video purportedly showing the burial ceremony have also circulated on Facebook, further heightening tension surrounding the dispute.
Speaking in an interview with our reporter on Sunday, Chief Ugwuja denied the allegations against him, describing the ceremony organised in his name as distressing and incomprehensible.
The father of six said he was traumatised by the development and broke down in tears when he learnt that members of his community had conducted his burial while he was still alive.
He insisted that, at 70, he could not understand why anyone would accuse him of committing evil against his own younger brother or any other person.
The crisis reportedly began after his younger brother, Mr Samson Ugwuja, accused him of being responsible for his illness, which included a deep sore on one of his legs.
Our reporter gathered that, in December 2025, a daughter of Mr Silas Ugwuja, whose name is being withheld, reportedly called him from Lagos State and informed him that a prophecy she received at a church ministry where she had gone for prayers identified his elder brother as being behind the family’s misfortunes.
The report said the revelation triggered controversy, confusion and resentment between the two brothers, their children and other members of the community, with the dispute persisting to date.
In an attempt to resolve the matter, Mr Silas Ugwuja was said to have bought kola nuts and taken the issue before community elders and kinsmen, who reportedly held several meetings to investigate the allegations, unravel the source of the conflict and restore peace among the affected family members.
However, the efforts allegedly failed to resolve the dispute.
The kinsmen were also said to have consulted traditional spiritual practitioners and explored other means of establishing the truth, including a visit to a native doctor in Igala, Kogi State, whom they reportedly hoped would confirm the allegations against Chief Ugwuja.
According to the account, those involved were surprised when the outcome of their consultations did not establish Chief Ugwuja’s guilt.
On the agreed date for the visit to the native doctor in Igala, the man was reportedly said to have travelled to Abuja, forcing the distressed family to spend N150,000 on the uncertain mission.
Despite the consultations and attempts to settle the dispute, youths, some elders and women in the community allegedly proceeded to organise the burial ceremony for Chief Ugwuja.
The family further alleged that the group issued a three-day ultimatum, threatening to conduct additional burial ceremonies for other members of the family.
In another disturbing development, youths allegedly went to Chief Ugwuja’s residence, broke one of the windows and took away a motorcycle and N20,000.
Chief Ugwuja said he was forced to flee his home through the bush to Anambra State, where he reportedly spent a night in hiding to avoid what he feared could be a deadly attack.
He also accused some influential individuals and close relatives of being involved in what he described as a campaign of harassment and conspiracy against him.
“I feel bad about the whole thing. When people accuse you of doing something you did not do, how can you feel okay? I cried when I heard they were conducting my burial while I am still alive,” he said.
He appealed to the state government, the police and other relevant authorities to intervene urgently, insisting that his desire was to see peace restored in the community.
“I want peace and want the government, the police and other relevant authorities to wade into the matter with a view to bringing peace to the entire community,” he added.
In a separate interview with journalists on Sunday, Mrs Odinaka Onuora, Chief Ugwuja’s eldest daughter, made an emotional appeal to Governor Mbah and the police to intervene before the situation deteriorated further.
She said the family was living in fear following the alleged burial ceremony and the reported threats against her father, mother and siblings.
According to her, the community’s youths had been searching for her father’s whereabouts, leaving the family uncertain about their intentions.
“Youths of the community have been searching for the whereabouts of my father as if he were a thief. We do not know whether it is to kill him. When we got the information, we called my father and told him not to come out because it appeared the people wanted to kill him, especially as his children were not around,” she said.
Onuora said her father subsequently left his home secretly and sought refuge in the bush.
“So, my father secretly left his house, hid in the bush and slept there. The next day, he switched on his phone, and when we called him, we were able to reach him,” she recounted.
She said the family later managed to bring him out of hiding and take him from the village to her residence in Awka, Anambra State, for safety.
“We had to smuggle him out of the bush and bring him from the village to my house in Awka. We learnt that they gave us, his children, three days to come back,” she said.
The daughter expressed deep disappointment over the manner in which the dispute between the brothers had allegedly been handled, particularly by members of their community who were expected to mediate and restore peace.
“I feel saddened by the whole incident because when a brother does this kind of thing to his own brother, it means he is not thinking good of his own brother.
Now, my father is emotionally down, and whenever he talks, his whole body shakes. My mother is currently having blood pressure problems because of this issue,” she said.
Onuora also accused community leaders of failing to resolve the dispute despite repeated interventions, alleging that members of her family had faced banishment from the community on previous occasions.
“My village people, the Ebor people, failed us because they did not treat this case the way it should have been treated. This is a community where, if two brothers have issues, they banish one of them. They have done it once, a second time, and this is the third time,” she alleged.
She described the situation as heartbreaking, saying her family felt increasingly alienated from its ancestral community.
“It is heartbreaking for a community to banish its own people when they want to wipe us out of our community and family,” she added.
The daughter urged the state government and the police to act swiftly, stressing that the family needed protection and justice.
“What I want now is for the state government and the police to urgently intervene because the kind of atrocities going on in our village are terrible and too much. They should intervene and give justice to my parents and us, their children,” she said.
Our reporter also gathered that the matter had been reported to the police Area Command in Imilike, Nsukka, Enugu State.
Efforts to obtain the reaction of the Enugu State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, were unsuccessful as calls and WhatsApp messages sent to him on Sunday had not been answered as of the time of filing this report.
Also Calls to the President-General of the community, Mr Akpaa Ebor Kelvin, and the traditional ruler, Igwe Chikodi Ugwuanyi, also went unanswered.
The family is urging the relevant authorities to investigate the allegations, ensure the safety of all those involved and take steps to prevent further escalation of the crisis.
