A
food vendor in Anambra State, Ngozi Aloefuna, is in the eye of the
storm after she was discovered to have been in custody of the remains of
her brother who died of mental illness about two years ago. The corpse
of Stephen Aloefuna, a former footballer with Rangers International Club
in the 80s, was hidden in the family house for the past two years until
it had decomposed to a skeleton.
Residents of Amikwo Village,
Awka South Local Government Area, where the incident happened, were
benumbed by the shocking discovery, even as people accused Ngozi, the
food vendor, of mischievously harvesting her brother’s body parts to
cook the food she sells to the public in the market.
Daily Sun
investigation revealed that the woman was a popular food vendor in
Eke-Awka market. Eyewitnesses to the horror told our reporter that the
remains of the young man had turned into a skeleton when it was
discovered by one of his brothers, who pressed Ngozi to show him where
the late Stephen was buried.
The man, stunned by the bizarre
sight, raised the alarm that attracted neighbours to the room. The sight
shocked the neighbours, as they never imagined that they had lived with
a decomposing corpse for the past two years. While suspecting Ngozi of
sinister motives, the villagers alleged that she was using her late
brother’s parts to prepare food for her customers, as nothing could
explain why she locked up his remains in a room for two years.
It
was gathered that the bewildered neighbours descended on Ngozi, as they
demanded explanation for such evil. Sources disclosed that Ngozi
admitted that it was the skeleton of her brother, Stephen, who died of
mental sickness. However, her failure to explain why she hid the corpse
increased people’s speculation that she had something sinister rolled up
her sleeves.
But when Daily Sun went to the residence of the
suspect to probe further, her relations denied the claim, insisting that
she was innocent of any diabolical act. A member of the family, who
spoke with our reporter on condition of anonymity, confirmed the death
of Stephen, who he said suffered mental problem for many years before
his death.
It was reported that Ngozi tried all she could do for
him to recover from his sickness but all her efforts proved abortive.
So, when he died, she called one of their brothers and reported the
death of their brother, Stephen, but he allegedly shunned her and asked
her not to bother him again. For the past two years, the corpse was
denied a proper burial and abandoned in the room, where it decomposed to
bones.
The dishonour to the dead came to light recently when Mr.
Ifeanyi Aloefuna accosted Ngozi and demanded to see where the deceased
was buried. It was at that point that she led him to the room where he
beheld the terrifying skeleton of the late Stephen.
When this
reporter asked Ngozi whether she was guilty of cooking her brother’s
body parts, she said: “I am innocent. I did not kill my brother.
Everybody knew he had a mental problem and was seriously sick before he
died. Before he died, I was the only person that was taking care of him
for years and nobody asked me how he was faring until he died. They said
I killed him and used his body to prepare the food that I sell but only
God knows the truth. I leave it for God to judge.”
She explained
that shortly after her brother’s death, she called their elder brother,
that was living outside the state but he warned her not to disturb his
peace. According to her, since she could not bury his brother alone, she
left the corpse in a room and covered him.
“I decided to cover
him till he comes back because only I cannot bury him. After two years
of his death, some of our family members came and asked of him and I
told them he is dead and they said I should show them his grave. I
opened his room and showed them where he died. Then I was arrested and
taken to the police station,” she explained.
Ngozi denied
embalming the corpse with native herbs to dry it and prevent any odour
in the neighbourhood. One of the residents of the area told our reporter
that a pungent smell pervaded the air within the area for many months
in the past but no one could trace the source of the stinking odour. It
was after the shocking discovery was made that residents felt disgusted
of inhaling such odour from a decomposing corpse.
Daily Sun
gathered that the remains of the deceased were taken to the police
station, while Ngozi was detained and interrogated for some days. She
was later granted bail when some of her kindred intervened. The
relatives also buried the remains of late Stephen in their family
compound.
When our reporter contacted the state Police Public
Relations Officer, Mr. Uche Eze, he confirmed the incident and said that
investigations were ongoing.
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