By; AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna
An Upper Customary Court, Sabon Tasha, Kaduna has ordered for the immediate release of a corpse for burial of late Cecilia Bakam, who died in October 2023 and could not be buried following a clash within the family of where the deceased should be buried.
The case, in what many see as a clash between tradition and debasement of value had left the body of late Mrs. Cecelia Peter Bakam, who died in October 2023 unburied following her alledged dieing wish.
The presiding Judge, Danladi Douglas, while delivering judgment in Kaduna on Thursday, said that the corpse of Cecilia Bakam should immediately be released to the elders, saying that the applicants are bound by the tradition and custom of the Bajju people to ensure where the deceased should be buried.
According to him, “the defendant was able to prove in accordance with the tradition and custom of the Bajju people in respect of the burial that it the elders that have the strongest say of the place and how the burial of the deceased should take place.”
The presiding judge added that if even the deceased has a dieing wish, the elders still have the final say of where the corpse should be buried.
The presiding judge said, “The elders should be given immediate access of the corpse so that they (elders) will make arrangement and prepare for the burial of the corpse.”
Douglas observed that both parties are bound by the custom and tradition of the Bajju people, pointing out that since they are all Bajju people.
He noted that holding the corpse of Cecilia Bakam over a long period of time is unlawful that is contrary to the custom and tradition of the Bajju people.
The case, in what many see as a clash between tradition and debasement of value had left the body of late Mrs. Cecelia Peter Bakam, who died in October 2023 unburied following her alleged dieing wish.
The first son of the late 70-year-old woman, Emmanuel Bakam, has in January this year approached the Upper Customary Court Television, Sabon Tasha, Kaduna, seeking the release of his mother’s corpse for burial in accordance with the Bajju native custom and tradition which stipulated that his late mother should be buried outside her matrimonial home.
Bajju is one of the tribes in Zagon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The defendants, Hajiya Maryam Doka, Maureen Kabrik Bakam, Veronica Dudu Bakam, George Bakam, and Pascalina Bakam refused to grant access to the first son of the family and the elders because their requests to bury their late mother inside a room alongside their late father as an alleged dieing wish was not granted.
