COMMUNITY REPORT
Women Place Curse On Community Over Corpse Dumped On Delta Monarch’s Palace
Women from all clans of the Ughelli Kingdom mostly aged women in their 80s have reportedly placed curse on those who dumped the corpse of an Iwhreko youth killed during the celebration of the Ihenrin cultural festival at the ancient palace of Ughelli Kingdom, Delta State.
BIGPENNGR understands that the women in their numbers carrying placard with different inscriptions had on Wednesday danced half naked to Otor- Iwhreko community over claims that the locals defiled the royal palace of Ughelli kingdom and Ughelli land by dropping the corpse of one of the victims of the ill-fated communal crisis that rocked Ekiugbo and Otor-Iwhreko communities both of Ughelli Kingdom.
The placards bore by the protesters had different inscriptions such as; ‘Mr. Sunday Onabedje has desecrated Ughelli Kingdom’, Austin Odugbo, Monday Abudu has defiled Ughelli kingdom’, ‘Defilement of Ughelli royal palace is totally rejected, it is abomination’ ‘Banish the perpetrators’.
While calling for the banishment of the perpetrators, the protesters told journalists that “until the ritual cleansing of the land is done, the women will not lift the curse place on the community and will not do anything with Otor-Iwhreko anymore”.
Speaking to newsmen during the protest, one of the protesters simply identified as Margret said it is an abominable thing for the king to see corpse adding that last week some persons from Otor- Iwhreko community led by the community chairman, Mr. Sunday Onabedje brought a corpse to the palace of Ughelli kingdom while the king was holding meeting with his chief in the palace.
“It is an abomination and forbidden in Ughelli kingdom for the king to see corpse, we the women from all the communities in the kingdom decided to embarked on protest calling on the erring community (Otor–Iwhreko) to come and clean the land of Ughelli kingdom.
“We decided to dance naked to the community especially to the houses of those the community chairman used to drop the corpse in the palace, we heaped branches of leaves in their community and their door steps symbolizing curses on them should they fail to do the needful”.
Earlier, the President General of Ughelli Descendants Union (UDU), Chief Pius Amubaye while addressing the protesters at the palace before embarking on the protest, said, the council of chiefs in Ughelli kingdom called on all communities in Ughelli kingdom to bring ten women each for the protest.
“You are invited by HRM Wilson Ojakovo Oharisi III the Ovie of Ughelli kingdom to dance naked to Otor – Iwhreko community for the abominable thing they did to the kingdom, they defiled the land of Ughelli, they desecrated the kingdom’s palace, the monarch invited but they turned the invitation down.
“You are to dance round the community to place leaves in their door steps and make incantations and come back, be rest assure you have the backing of council of chiefs, UDU and security agencies”, he said.
Local sources revealed that the protesters were chased back with gun shots from the community by aggrieved youths from Iwhreko community.
Recalls the people of Iwhreko community had on Wednesday called on Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to come to their rescue as their lives were in danger from arrest threat issued by their monarch and unprovoked violent attacks by Ekiugbo people.
In a save our soul message to Governor Okowa, the President-General of Iwhreko community, Mr. Godwin Onabedje, stated that trouble started last week Thursday, September 16, when Ekiugbo youths ambushed and sporadically shot at Iwhreko youths who were celebrating the Ihenrin cultural festival, killing one and injuring many who were in critical condition.
Following the unprovoked attack, he said, “the people then protested the unprovoked attack to the palace of the Ovie, carrying the corpse.
“The next day, instead of showing concern over the series of unprovoked attacks by Ekiugbo on Iwhreko people, the king issued a letter commanding the Iwhreko people to cleanse his palace, which he claimed was desecrated by the presence of a corpse.
The letter, signed by the Ovie royal secretary, Oderohwo Solomon, read: “HRM has given you three days to cleanse the Ovie Palace on or before September 31 for bringing a dead body to the gate of the palace.
“Failure to adhere to the instruction shall lead to arrest.”
The letter was specifically addressed to six members of the Iwhreko community namely: Onabedje Godwin, Samson Abudu (a victim of gunshot who is between life and death), Mama Gabmas Emariovwore, Mama Patricia Arigo Akpowevwe, Austin Odugbo Okirhieri and Daniel Uloho.
In response, the six took the matter to court and instituted a case in Suit No UHC/152/2021 seeking enforcement of their fundamental human rights and praying the court to declare that among others, the threat of arresting the applicants over the cleansing of the respondent’s Palace was illegal, unconstitutional, unwarranted and a calculated act to infringe the applicants’ fundamental right to personal liberty, dignity of person, freedom of thought, conscience and religion and freedom of movement.
Onabedje said it was consequent upon the court notice that the monarch, in court contempt, mobilised the women from various parts of the kingdom to confront and invoke a curse on the Iwhreko people.
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