Panic and outrage have rocked Awo-Omamma community in Oru East, Imo State, after a widow, Mrs. Chika Ndubuisi, was allegedly forced by her husband’s kinsmen to drink water used in bathing his corpse to “prove her innocence” in his death.
The disturbing act, which has reverberated across the state, came to light after a women’s advocacy group raised the alarm, prompting the swift intervention of the Imo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Lady Nkechinyere Ugwu, led the rescue mission and condemned the barbaric incident in strong terms, describing it as an “inhuman widowhood practice that should have been buried with the past.”
Visibly angered, Lady Ugwu said she was shocked that such a cruel and degrading ritual could still be practiced in modern times.
She said the act was not only wicked but also a shameful stain on society’s moral conscience.
In a swift response, the wife of the state governor, Chioma Uzodinma, ordered an immediate investigation and insisted that everyone involved must face the full wrath of the law.
According to reports, Mrs. Ndubuisi was detained alongside her late husband’s body by his relatives, who accused her of killing him. They then attempted to force her to drink from the water used in washing the corpse.
The timely intervention of Lady Ugwu, the Local Council Authority, security agencies, and the women’s group stopped the horrifying ritual before it could be carried out.
Lady Ugwu confirmed that the ministry, working with the Oru East Council Chairman and several NGOs, rescued the widow and her children and placed them under protection.
“Normalcy has been restored, and a detailed investigation is underway. Mrs. Ndubuisi and her children are under government protection,” she said, adding that arrests had already been made.
The shocking case has reignited public anger over the persistence of cruel widowhood rites still being practiced in some Nigerian communities, despite decades of advocacy and legal reforms.
