AMANSEA, Nigeria — The peaceful town of Amansea in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State was thrown into confusion last week when the corpse of Pa Micheal Nwanwuba Onyekwelu, the community’s oldest man, mysteriously vanished from a local mortuary.
Pa Onyekwelu, aged 115, had passed away, and his body was placed in Regina Hospital’s mortuary in preparation for burial ceremonies at his family home in Orebe community. A wake was scheduled for Thursday, followed by a church service and internment on Friday, April 28, 2023.
However, when community members and clergymen arrived at Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church Amansea for the burial service, they were shocked to discover the corpse was missing.
“We could not believe what was happening,” said a local resident, who preferred to remain anonymous. “This is something we have never seen or heard of before.”
An investigation revealed that another family from an unidentified community in Nsukka, Enugu State, had mistakenly taken Pa Onyekwelu’s remains and buried them two weeks prior, believing it to be their own deceased father.
In a strange twist, it was also uncovered that Pa Onyekwelu had warned his children not to deposit his body in a mortuary upon his death. However, one of his sons, a Catholic priest, had disregarded the request to ensure a proper church service and burial rites for his father.
The bizarre incident left hundreds of mourners disappointed and confused. “We came to pay our last respects, but it seems fate had other plans,” said another local, who also asked not to be named.
Representatives of the Awka Catholic Diocese, including the bishop, were equally stunned by the development. Though some attendees left after the news spread, others stayed behind to partake in the food and drinks prepared for the event.
Attempts to contact the bereaved family for comment were unsuccessful, as they were busy negotiating with the Nsukka family to exhume the body for a proper burial.
It was later confirmed that Pa Onyekwelu’s body was exhumed and returned to Orebe community for burial on Saturday evening.
