Magnus Eze, Enugu
A young man in his thirties has brought untold shame to himself; his family and community in Abia State. Ugochukwu Nwonwu, a native of Umuokwenuta Isingwu in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State has roundly desecrated “Isingwuland”, with his reckless libido to the point that he recently put his 13-year-old daughter in the family way.
The real gist is that the young girl who was discovered to be pregnant about two months ago is a product of an incestuous relationship. It was gathered that Ugochukwu had about 16 years ago impregnated his sister, who then gave birth to twins––two girls––said to be about 15 years old now.
It began about 16 years ago when it was discovered that Ugochukwu had sowed his wild oats in his cousin (daughter of his father’s brother) and got her pregnant. Both of them said they would marry each other but the family rejected as it was a taboo in their culture.
Chukwunyere, 51, a carpenter who narrated his younger brother’s shameful escapades to Saturday Sun disclosed that the family made some cleansing of the land then, and allowed the young lady to carry the pregnancy and deliver it.
“The mother of the small girl is our sister, so, when my brother impregnated her some years back; the family said they cannot marry that it was abomination. But she eventually delivered twins; two girls, then we went and did some sacrifices to appease the land. My father was alive then; with my senior brother in Lagos, and the village head that you met; he’s our elder in the family, our father’s brother, we did all the traditional rites. We didn’t know that he relocated the lady to Abuja and they continued their incestuous life until she became pregnant again and gave birth to another girl. The twins are 15 while the next one is 13,” he stated.
The distraught man said that his brother later married another lady from the Orlu area of Imo State who now has three children for him, two boys and a girl. He recently travelled to Abuja and brought the young girl to come and stay with them in the village on the pretence that she was on holiday. Little did people know, that he probably brought the girl to Umuahia to always violate her sexually until one fateful day, when his wife noticed what was going on.
Chukwunyere continued: “I’m not usually at home. So, what I will tell you is the one I know. One day, I returned from a burial in Akwa Ibom and my brother’s wife called me that she needed to see me. When I got to the house, I didn’t see her, it was my brother, her husband that I met. He told me that she had gone to their church, so when I called her, she asked that I should meet her there. When I got there, she now narrated this abominable story to me. In fact, I was totally devastated and didn’t waste time to rush to the home of our village Chairman and told him what I heard.
Living in sexual bondage
The village Chairman accompanied by some members of his executive committee with Chukwunyere then went to Sure Word International Church, near the popular former Crusader Secondary School, now Community Secondary School, Isingwu, to meet Ugochukwu’s wife. They were shocked by the revelations that followed.
When the young girl was asked what happened; she not only confirmed that her father had abused her sexually but even revealed that it was not his first time of ‘using’ her.
According to the girl, her father started ‘touching and using’ her in Abuja when she was 10 years old. She disclosed that she had reported the violation to her mother who confronted her father when it started; the issue caused serious friction between them before they later settled it.
“She said that when he started doing it; she called her mother and said ‘I think you said this man is my father; look at what he’s doing to me’. Her mother had quarrel with the father then, but after a while, they settled. Since then, he had been abusing her sexually. So, some months back, he went and brought her to the village, according to him, for holiday. That was when it was discovered that he was sleeping with the small girl,” Chukwunyere said.
Her mother was then informed of the incident and she travelled down to Umuahia from her Abuja base; took the girl to a laboratory where result of pregnancy test conducted was positive. A copy of the test was also made available to the Chairman of the village.
However, the already violated and vandalised girl has since been taken to Abuja by her mother though Saturday Sun could not confirm her fate as it was not possible to establish contact with the mother.
Community sanction
Once the traditional institution got wind of the despicable act, Eze Kingsley Nemekaobum (Okpu Ngwu 1) immediately convened general meeting of all adult men and women of the community at the town hall just next door to the Chimereze Palace.
The Traditional Prime Minister, Chief Moses Nwakanma and Uguchukwu’s village head and uncle, Chief Okezie Nwonwu said the community did not waste time in banishing the disgraceful young man from the community for 10 years. He was however, not around to face the community as he escaped immediately he knew that the bubble had burst.
“What he did is not what two ears should hear about. He’s a big disgrace to our family and community,” the village head said tearfully.
Saturday Sun was told that the first person that committed similar abomination in the area was banished for 10 years. Elders of the community said there was nothing anybody could do to help Ugochukwu until the banishment period elapsed.
“When this thing happened, our traditional ruler had not travelled, so, the town crier went round and summoned the whole community at the town hall where the issue was discussed and he was banished for ten years. By then, he had run away from the community; nobody knew his whereabouts. In fact, the first person that committed similar atrocity was also banished for ten years. So, to rescue him or before he could have respite, he would first stay away from this community for ten years. What he did was serious abomination. It’s after ten years before anybody could give consideration to going to do another round of appeasement or cleansing and sacrifice to the gods. For now, there’s nothing anybody can do,” Chukwunyere told Saturday Sun.
Asked whether he did not feel that his brother was under a spell, he said: “The origin of all this was that he impregnated his sister and we appeased the land through sacrifices but he still went back to ‘use’ her. If he had left her after the cleansing, he would have been free from any entrapment, but he went back, so, that’s the curse on him.”
Tale of owes
It has been tale of woes since the whole thing became public and Ugochukwu has since eloped from the community. His brother said they have not had peace since then. Aside the scorn that comes to members of the family, Chukwunyere disclosed that his brother’s creditors have continued to besiege their compound in search of him.
He said: “We have not been at peace; people have been looking for him. LAPO (microfinance) people have been coming that he borrowed N100,000 from them. There is also somebody that he took a Siena bus from on hire purchase; that one has been coming too.”
Chukwunyere who said that their ailing aged mother was in his elder sister’s place recuperating, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, added that she would die if she heard that Ugochukwu impregnated his little daughter.
“She wasn’t even around when this thing happened. I know she would be totally heartbroken to hear this kind of shameful story coming from her family. In fact, the pain can kill her.
“This boy has been prodigal; a big problem and disgrace to the family. He used to work at the National Root Crops Research Institute Umudike before he left there and moved to Abuja. In fact, there was a time my mother sold land and gave him N1.7million. He travelled to Dubai and he couldn’t stay, before you knew it, he returned,” he lamented.
A community leader who would not want his name mentioned described the runaway social misfit as a terror in the village, alleging that he had for years violated several children, girls and women in that village and different parts of the country. Recent revelations, according to him, merely showed that “The power of women to keep secrets is incredible.”
Unassured future for family
Efforts to meet his wife who is said have moved out of the family compound and presently lives at the premises of the Sure Word International Church could not yield fruits, after two visits.
One of their neighbours said the wife was a punching bag for Ugochukwu, who would at the slightest provocation pounce on her. He was said to have left her with machete cuts during one of those mindless beatings.
Meanwhile, the future of the children from his legitimate wife hangs on the balance with the running away of their breadwinner while their mother resigns to fate. Ugochukwu’s whereabouts were not known as even his elder brother, Chukwunyere, said that he has deleted his (Ugochukwu’s) number from his phone and was not ready to relate with him until after 10 years.