Mgbom Egbani, A City Of Subterfuge or Impunity? – The True Story Of The Late Okorie Anoh’s Alleged Marriage Saga To Nnennaya Onyema Nwokporoko

PEGASUS LEGAL

 

Senator Ike Ekweremadu was once attacked verbally by the SSG of Kogi State publishing same on a newspaper. Responding in the senate floor, the senator said that he would naturally ignore except for the people who recruited an ignorant SSG. The major problems in our society are ignorance, falsehood and shamelessness – with no offence to anyone. 

While there are a lot of polluting, inciteful and insulting write-ups and other media posts spreading over the social media against the family of Mr Okorie Anoh, it is needful to present the other side of the story that can be easily verified for the people who are truly interested in finding out the truth. Here is a brief summary:

  1. Mr Okorie Anoh never married Mrs Nnennaya Okoro Chukwu. She was born as Nnennaya Onyema Nwokporoko in Amandim Mgbom Ugwulangwu and was married by Mr Okoro Chukwu (a.k.a Owutu) of Amegbu Mgbom Uguwlangwu. 
  2. The woman is just being used by the politicians for their personal goals – perhaps control of destiny and show of power. 
  3. Mrs Nnenna, with the help of some power brokers, is illegally forcing herself to become a member of the Mr Okorie Anoh family.
  4. Mr Owutu was arrested with his family members to hijack the woman and their children several years ago. Initially, the so-called elders of Umunkaigbo were supporting this wrong-doing. We, the children of Mr Okorie Anoh, have continued to oppose such development that it is absolutely wrong ! 
  5. Mrs Nnenna filed a lawsuit at the Ugwulangwu Customary Court to dissolve her marriage with Mr Owutu without returning the children of the marriage nor refunding her bride price. Without a lawyer representing him, in 2007, Mr Owutu won the case and the honourable court maintained that the marriage is still subsisting – a copy of this verdict can be obtained.
  6. Since 2007 until date, the decision of the honourable court has never been challenged whether traditionally or in any court of law. 
  7. When he saw the other side of the lady, our father did all he could to send the woman away in his lifetime but was usually overpowered by the Umunkaigbo forces. He complained to all who cared to listen that he was not the one behind her pregnancies including the pastor of the nearby Assemblies of God Church where the lady attended. 
  8. Mrs Nnenna was sacked by Unwanyi-unuhu at one of their meetings at Mr Daniel Nwebulu Ochi’s place that she cannot be their member until she becomes fully married by Mr Okorie Anoh. Enraged by the decision, she returned back to her father’s house packing sand at the centre of our compound that she will wipe the Anoh’s family. 
  9. Afterwards, she travelled to Port-Harcourt to live with another lover who later died in their living together and she returned back to the village again with more children. 
  10. In 2019, Mr Chibuike was invited by Ndi-Mgbom Egbani to explain why he believes that Mrs Nnenna was just befriending our father but not married. He honoured the invitation and came along with Mr Owutu as a witness. Ndi-Mgbom Egbani sent Mr Owutu away and slapped Mr Chibuike with a fine of N10, 000. As if that was not enough, they also arrogantly told him to go and appeal anywhere he likes. 
  11. Judging this as an impunity of the highest order, Mr Chibuike did not pay the fine. Because the N10,000 fine was not paid, the family of Mr Okorie Anoh was ostracised by Ndi-Mgbom Egbani. 
  12. Trouble resurfaced again when the Mr Anoh was missing; Mrs Nnenna told the people that she knows where the missing man had gone to. She bragged that even if the man dies that nothing would happen because she had the backings of Ngene Ukeh, Idika Okoro, Nwohsiri Igboke and Ogbonna Nweze (all from Umunkaigbo) who have promised to be financing her. 
  13. On this note, the matter was reported to the police; Ngene and Nwoshiri were picked up. During interrogations, Ngene confessed to the police that he was the one that stopped the town-crier from sounding the village-gong to declare a search for the missing man. 
  14. Afterwards, the man was found somewhere around Onueke-Imoha and he later died from the episode. 
  15. He was to be buried, all his houses were demolished to erect new ones before the burial – troubles emerged again. 
  16. The Ebonyi State Government intervened in the matter. Observing that the ensuing problem was about the purported marriage between our father and Mrs Nnennaya Okoro Chukwu, the government set up two committees to investigate the matter and report back to them. We are still waiting for the report of their findings.
  17. One of the committees was charged with the responsibility of revoking the ostracisation punishment meted out to the entire family of Mr Okorie Anoh. Long deliberations after deliberations, Ndi-Mgbom Egbani fined us N150,000 before the ostracisation punishment could be revoked;  we paid it in the interest of peace. The Coordinator of Ohazoara East Development Centre headed this committee. 
  18. Despite receiving the N150,000, Ndi-Mgbom Egbani continued to harass, intimidate and fine men and women from the area that identified with us up to N85,000  – gross impunity !
  19. The second committee was charged with the responsibility of finding out, traditionally, if the woman was ever married by our father. HRH Eze R. F. Iyioku headed this committee. Mr Idika Okoro, Ngene Ukeh and Nwoshiri Igboke who claimed to have been witnesses to the marriage ceremony, recanted their tales in a following meeting when the Royal Father warned that he would invoke the traditional oath-taking if they maintained that they were saying the truth. During the meetings, the family of Mr Owutu of Amegbu attended in mass and stood their ground that the woman and children belonged to them. There are audio and video recordings showing where the people who claimed that they were witnesses to when our father married Nnenna Nwokoporo later confessed that they knew nothing about any such marriage ceremony – wonderful elders ! 
  20. During one of those meetings, Mrs Nnenna also retold a new story of different men fathering her children – video recording can be obtained. 
  21. During each of the meetings at the Royal father’s palace, Mrs Nnenna named different sets of people as being witnesses to her marriage with our father. In one of such occasions, she named Mr Chima Ikegwu Aja as one of such witness; who expressly yelled at her denying her instantly. After that incidence, Mr Chima Ikegwu Aja never attended the meeting again. 
  22. During all those meetings and up until now, no member of the Amandim kindred (where Mrs Nnenna comes from) has ever shown any support nor attended the meetings as they have maintained their stance that Mr Okorie Anoh never married their daughter. You can easily verify this. 
  23. On the same note, Mr Owutu and family have recently attended the burial ceremony of Mrs Nnenna’s uncle (Mr John Nwinyinya – aka Onwo) in December 2020 with the necessary traditional rites required of an inlaw; and the family accepted them very well. 
  24. Our position still remains; Mr Owutu should be treated the way things are done from the time immemorial – it is not his fault that he doesn’t have a high-sounding profile. Anybody can be poor. 

Then we ask, could Mgbom Egbani, be a city of subterfuge or impunity ? Supposing that if Mr Owutu is to have the same political muscle as the Mgbom Egbani forces, this problem may have not lingered this way. Alternatively, there would have been a communal clash – may God forbid ! 

Tehran is an Iranian city where survival depends on a network of subterfuge writes Ramita Navai, the author of City of Lies. Mgbom Egbani appears to be a place where both subterfuge and impunity thrive. Let us be honest with ourselves for once and stop insulting the integrity of a whole village for the gain of unconscionable and backward few individuals. 

Recall that we paid a year’s rent to house the woman at Mr Okereke Paul’s (a.k.a Isah) place during the demolition episode. Barely six months into the rent, Mr Isah had recently sacked Mrs Nnenna for attracting too many strikers to his home. It is important to note that Mr Isah was one of the major crusaders from Mgbom Egbani that Mrs Nnenna must remain in our place and that our brother (Chibuike) should be crucified. What you can’t eat, my people, do not feed another. 

To many of you supporting such wrongdoing including the self-acclaimed pastor and the unverifiable philanthropists, the bible says, Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter (Isaiah 5:20)! 

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