Parents of drowned UNIPORT student disagree with Rivers community over N115,000 'burial sacrifice'

The body of the late Omoseebi John

Parents of a 20-year-old student of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), who drowned in the Choba river on the 1st of June, over the weekend kicked against the demand of N115,000 for pre-burial “sacrifice” proposed by the Choba community in Rivers state.

The deceased, Omoseebi John, was said to have drowned in the river while working at a construction site around the river. The corpse was said to have remained by the riverside for some days before it was found by a search party and buried by the riverside in line with the customs of the community.

Punch reports that the community had demanded the sum of N115,000 from the deceased’s father, Mr Andrew Omosebi before the corpse can be exhumed and transported to his hometown in Oke Oro Ijero LGA of Ekiti state. Paramount ruler of the Choba community, His Royal Highness, Eze Raymond Okocha, explained that the money was needed for certain rites that had to be done.

Eze Okocha said:

“The father of the late boy came to my palace alongside some other pastors to tell me that their son drowned in the Choba River.

“I told them that in our culture, the corpse would be buried by the riverside. I also told them instances of what happened to people who disobeyed. I told them to carry the corpse if they insisted on taking the corpse to their place for burial.

“We considered them so much and never wanted to give them strict conditions as the culture would demand. This is because it would have been bad for the corpse to decay into the river.

 “The money they said we demanded was for the burial rite by the riverside. Those who will bury the decaying corpse are not slaves.

 “They were meant to pay N150, 000, but I subsidized the money for them with my own money to ensure that the boy is buried and is not allowed to decay into the river.

 “I did not hinder them from carrying the corpse for autopsy or going ahead with other investigations into the events that lead to the death of the boy.”

Mr Omosebi has however disagreed with the demand, saying “How can the Oba (monarch) of that community demand N115, 000 from us as if we came to marry a woman from the community. I am mourning the death of my only son and I am a Christian.”

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