The village head of Ikot Obong village in Ikpa Ibekwe clan in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Eteidung Gordon Etukeren, has demanded the sum of N50 million as damages from those who dumped a dead corpse in his palace, saying he and his family had been exposed to psychological trauma and health challenges from the stench oozing from the corpse.
It was gathered that some aggrieved persons reportedly dumped a corpse in the palace of the village head, without his consent.
The incident that occurred last Saturday was the high point of a dispute between the Etukeren and Udobong families over where the deceased, Late Stephen Iboro, a former staff member of the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria, should be buried.
The monarch alleged that some persons had on Saturday, March 7, brought the remains of one Mr Stephen Iboro in a coffin and dumped it in his palace.
According to him, trouble started when the Udobong family insisted that the deceased be buried on the Etukeren family’s land.
He added that he has consistently opposed it, arguing that the deceased is not a member of their family.
The Monarch disclosed that he had obtained an injunction from the High Court of Akwa Ibom State, Ikot Abasi Division, in suit No. HAB/MISC.4/2026, restraining the Udobong family from burying the late Stephen Iboro on the Etukeren family land.
Speaking with our correspondent on Monday, the village head said the Late Stephen Iboro was not a member of his family, as he hailed from Otong Udobong in Ikot Obong village.
“Late Stephen Isaac Iboro was accommodated by us, the Etukeren family, when he was rejected by this family. We gave him a house to live in. We told him that anytime he has money, he should go and buy his own land and build there.
“Fortunately, he got employed in ALSCON, and he made money and built his house. In the year 2022, when we discovered that his health was going down, we called him in our family meeting and said he should quit the house we gave him in his building.
“He pleaded that we should give him one year to put finishing touches on his building, and we agreed. But unfortunately, he said he bought that place from somebody who is not related to us. Unfortunately again, it appeared that he was duped in the process of acquiring the land and was asked to quit.
“Sadly, in the process, he died. Now his brothers, the people from Otong Udobong, have gone to sell his house for about N25 million, and they are saying that he must be buried in our family land.
“They reported me to the State Police Command, accusing me of fomenting problems because I insisted that the deceased should not be buried in my family land. They asked the police to detain me so that they could go ahead and bury their brother in my family’s land, but the police discovered the truth and backed out of the matter.”
The royal father said that he had to go to court to seek justice over the matter, following which he obtained a court injunction restraining the Udobong family from burying late Stephen in his family land.
“However, this court injunction was served on Friday. That Friday, I went to the DPO here and asked him to give me some policemen to enforce the court injunction. The Udobong family members threatened that they were going to bring the corpse here, and finally they brought it on Saturday.”
