By; MKPUMA ENYINNA, Abakaliki
Following the alleged demolition of family house by brother in-laws, two widows and their children have been rendered homeless in Ezi Agbi, Ukpa Community in Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State over ownership of the house.
In a visit to the scene of the incident at Ezi Agbi, Ukpa Community, it was observed that part of the family house including the fence and the property inside were all destroyed.
Speaking with the affected widows, Mrs. Margret Agbi lamented that she has never seen that kind of thing before and could never believe that her brother in-law, would do such a thing to them.
She alleged that the boys that demolished the building and destroyed their property were hired by Azubuike Agbi, lamenting that they have found it difficult to get a place to lay their heads, calling on government to come to their rescue.
“You have seen how the world is. We don’t have anybody to come to our rescue nor to speak for us. I have never seen this kind of thing in my life time.I never new that the children of my husband’s brother could demolish our house for no just cause.
“They destroyed the building including the properties inside the house.All our cushion chairs, bed, fan, Television, lamp,kitchen utensils,my wrappers and other things were all destroyed.
“I want government to come to our rescue. You can see how we are struggling to earn a living. We are only surviving by God’s Grace”, Mrs. Agbi lamented.
In the same vein, her co-wife, Mrs. Ogeri Agbi cried out that their husband died long ago and they have been managing to earn a living until when her brother in-law served them notice to pack out of the compound, saying that they have been living peacefully over the years until when they came and told them of their intention to rebuild the house, which they started with their own portion and later migrated to their side and demolished it.
“As you can see, our husband died some years ago. It is my brother in-law that came and destroyed the only house where we are living. The gave us notice to pack out.
“We have been living peacefully in this compound until when they came and told us that they want to rebuild their own side of the building and later migrated to our own side, and did the same thing.
“This thing happened on July 26, 2022. My husband, Egwu Agbi owns this building. My late husband and his brother inherited this building from their mother and it was divided for both of them to live.
“The issues we had with them in the past were settled by Ukpa Community where they divided the compound into two, one side was given to my husband, while his elder brother had one side. We had no issue recently that could warrant this type of wickedness,” she said.
On his part, one of the widow’s children, Mr. Agbi Anelechi while reacting to the matter, said that the building is a family compound which his father, Egwu Elechi and Okwa Agbi inherited from their grandmother and have lived there for years but unfortunately, their cousin brother, Azubuike Agbi came and claimed ownership of the compound and served them notice to pack out, saying that the compound belongs to them.
He further explained that his cousin hired some group of boys on July 18, 2022, led by Mr. Heart Okwa to come and demolish the building but following the alarm raised by an Okada rider, they ran away. Also, on July 26, 2022, those boys came again with all manners of weapons such as machete, axe, gun among others and succeeded in demolishing part of the building, including the fence and the property inside.
He therefore, called on government and non governmental organizations to come to their aid and ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted.
When contacted for reaction over the allegation, Mr. Heart Okwa said he won’t react over the issue until he knows the people that reported him.
