“They Threw Me Out in the Rain” — Anambra Widow Cries for Justice as In-Laws Demolish Her Home, Disown Her Children After Husband’s Death
A widow in Anambra State, Mrs. Eze-Onwumere Vivian, has cried out for help after being forcefully evicted and disowned by her late husband’s family, following his death in December 2023.
Speaking to Reporters, Mrs. Vivian revealed that her husband’s brother, Isaiah Eze-Onwumere, and his children accused her of being an outsider and claimed that her children were not fathered by their late relative, Philimon Eze-Onwumere.
Despite having evidence of a traditional marriage conducted in her hometown, Nsukka, and attended by members of her husband’s family, Vivian said the in-laws have continued to deny her marital rights. Matters worsened when they allegedly tried to sell the land where she and her children lived.
“No one supported me while my husband was sick,” she recounted. “Just his elder brother Christian and I spent our time and money. But ten days after his death, they were already moving to sell his property.”
She said Isaiah and one of his sons, Ebuka, spearheaded the attempt to claim and sell the property, even though they had been absent and uninvolved during her husband’s illness. “I placed a caveat at the Ministry of Land to stop the sale — I couldn’t let them take everything,” she said.
Her resistance, however, triggered retaliation.
On July 4, while she was out buying household supplies, her house was demolished and her belongings thrown outside in the pouring rain. “I returned to find the roof gone and my things soaked. They said a court ordered it, but I was never served anything,” she said in tears.
Now homeless and battling to protect her children’s inheritance, Mrs. Vivian is calling on Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, and the First Lady, Mrs. Nonye Soludo, to urgently intervene and help her get justice.
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