By CHARLES IWUOHA

Two widows, Madam Helen Agbi and Madam Ogeri Agbi, have been rendered homeless following the demolition of their family building, allegedly by a brother-in-law.

The demolition of the building also affected their children and other dependents.

The unfortunate incident occurred on July 18 and 26, 2022 in Ezi Agbi, Ukpa Community in Afikpo North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

A visit by News Express to the scene confirmed that part of the family house, including the fence and the property inside the demolished house, were all destroyed.

Speaking with the affected widows, they alleged that the boys that demolished the building and destroyed their property were hired by Azubuike Agbi, one of their brothers-in-law.

They lamented that they no longer have a place to lay their head, calling on government to come for their rescue.

“You have seen how the world is. We don’t have anybody to come to our rescue or to speak for us. We have never seen this kind of thing before. We never knew that our husband’s brother could demolish our house for no just cause.

“They destroyed the building, including property inside the house. All our cushion chairs, bed, fan, television, lamp, kitchen utensils, wrappers and other things were all destroyed.

“We want government to come to our rescue. You can see how we are struggling to earn a living. We are only surviving by God’s grace,” Helen and Ogeri Agbi lamented.

Both widows regretted as they struggled to survive after the death of their husband, their brother-in-law served them notice to pack out of the house. They noted that they had been living peacefully over the years until when Azubuike Agbi told them to quit to enable him rebuild the house.

“As you can see, our husband died some years ago. It is our brother-in-law that came and destroyed the only house where we were living. We had been living peacefully in this compound until when they came and told us that they wanted to rebuild their own side of the building but later migrated to our own side and also demolished it.

“This thing happened on 18 and 26th July, 2022. Our husband, Egwu Agbi, owns this building. Our late husband and his brother inherited this building from their mother and it was divided for both of them.

“The issue we had with them in the past was settled by Ukpa Community, which divided the compound into two; one side was given to our husband while his elder brother was given the other side. And we had no issue recently that could warrant this type of wickedness,” the homeless widows lamented.

One of the widows’ children, Mr. Agbi Anelechi, said they were shocked when his uncle, Azubuike Agbi, came and claimed ownership of the compound and served them quit notice.

He alleged that the man hired a group of boys on 18th July, 2022 led by one Mr. Heart Okwa to come and demolish the building, but following the alarm raised by an okada rider, they ran away.

“However, on 26th July, 2022 those boys came again with all manner of weapons such as matchette, axe, gun among others and succeeded in demolishing part of the building including the fence and the properties inside it,” Anelechi lamented.

He, therefore, called on government, NGOs and public spirited groups and individuals, to come to their rescue, while also ensuring that the perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted.

When contacted for his reaction over the allegation, Mr. Heart Okwa said he would speak only if he was told the people that reported him to News Express.

The main accused, Mr Azubuike Agbi, is said to be based in the United States of America (USA). All efforts made to get his contact proved abortive.

•The two widows, Madam Helen Agbi and Madam Ogeri Agbi, in front of their demolished house. PHOTO: Charles Iwuoha / News Express Nigeria

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