Residents of Umuoriehi village in the Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State woke up on Saturday morning to behold the exhumed body of an octogenarian buried two weeks ago.
Our correspondent learnt that the decomposing body of 82-year-old Smart Isiuwa was placed by the roadside beside the destroyed coffin while the grave was covered back.
A source said the act was carried out on Friday night under the cover of darkness while Isiuwa’s family members were asleep.
The source said prior to Isiuwa’s burial, his corpse spent over a year in the mortuary before it was finally buried two weeks ago in the family compound.
The source said disagreements to secure a place to bury Isiuwa was what led to the prolonged stay of the corpse in the morgue.
A son of the deceased, Ebere, told Sunday PUNCH that they woke up on Saturday morning to discover that the corpse of their father had been exhumed and the grave covered back by unknown persons.
On what he intended to do next, Ebere said he was waiting for his elder brother to return from a trip so they could re-bury their father.
Our correspondent who visited the late Isiuwa’s compound saw some villagers discussing the incident in hushed tones.