A popular food vendor in Eke-Awka market, Anambra
State, Ngozi Aloefuna, has been arrested for being in custody of the
remains of her brother, Stephen Aloefuna, a former footballer with
Rangers International Club in the 80s.
His body was hidden in the family house for the about 2 years.
Residents of Amikwo Village, Awka South Local Government
Area, where the incident happened, even went as far as accusing Ngozi
of mischievously harvesting her brother’s body parts to cook the food
she sells to the public in the market.
Sun news reports that the remains of the man had turned
into a skeleton when it was discovered by one of his brothers, who
pressed Ngozi to show him where the late Stephen was buried.
The man, stunned by the bizarre sight, raised the alarm
that attracted neighbours to the room. The sight shocked the neighbours,
as they never imagined that they had lived with a decomposing corpse
for the past two years.
When Ngozi was asked whether she was guilty of cooking
her brother’s body parts, she said: “I am innocent. I did not kill my
brother. Everybody knew he had a mental problem and was seriously sick
before he died. Before he died, I was the only person that was taking
care of him for years and nobody asked me how he was faring until he
died. They said I killed him and used his body to prepare the food that I
sell but only God knows the truth. I leave it for God to judge.”
She explained that shortly after her brother’s death,
she called their elder brother, that was living outside the state but he
warned her not to disturb his peace. According to her, since she could
not bury his brother alone, she left the corpse in a room and covered
him.
“I decided to cover him till he comes back because only I
cannot bury him. After two years of his death, some of our family
members came and asked of him and I told them he is dead and they said I
should show them his grave. I opened his room and showed them where he
died. Then I was arrested and taken to the police station,” she
explained.
Ngozi denied embalming the corpse with native herbs to
dry it and prevent any odour in the neighbourhood. One of the residents
of the area told our reporter that a pungent smell pervaded the air
within the area for many months in the past but no one could trace the
source of the stinking odour. It was after the shocking discovery was
made that residents felt disgusted of inhaling such odour from a
decomposing corpse.
The remains of the deceased were taken to the police
station, while Ngozi was detained and interrogated for some days. She
was later granted bail when some of her kindred intervened. The
relatives also buried the remains of late Stephen in their family
compound.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Uche Eze, confirmed the incident and said that investigations were ongoing.
