Man Buried a Year After Brother-in-Law Seized His Body

The remains of the late Chief Sir Gabriel Odili George Ume-Ezeoke have finally been laid to rest in his hometown of Amichi, Nnewi South Local Government Area, Anambra State, over a year after his death. The delay followed a dispute with his brother-in-law, who had reportedly seized the corpse and denied the widow access to her husband’s compound.

The Anambra State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hon. Ify Obinabo, confirmed the development in a statement on Thursday, December 4, 2025. She explained that Chief Odili’s body had been held in the mortuary for over a year due to the family dispute.

Government officials, led by Obinabo and her staff, along with friends and members of Ume-Ezeoke’s family, were on hand to inter the remains with a court order securing the burial.

In her condolence message, Obinabo urged the family to embrace peace, saying that “death is not the end of life, but a transition to eternal glory.” Several family members expressed gratitude to the state government for its intervention, praying for the peaceful repose of their late brother.

In an interview, the widow of the deceased, Mrs. Ume-Ezeoke, described her husband, who passed away at the age of 76, as a kind and generous man, a peacemaker who touched countless lives. She also prayed for Governor Soludo for bringing a solution to her doorstep.

See photos below……..