Police Obstruct Court Order To Exhume Amuchienwa’s Remains

A court order issued by the Acting Chief Judge of Imo State, Honourable Justice I. O. Agugua, for the exhumation of a late community leader’s body was allegedly obstructed last Monday by interested operatives of the Imo State Police Command.

The incident stems from a contentious family dispute over the burial of the late Chief Ifeanyichukwu Donatus Amuchienwa of Umuawam, Amaburu Ubomiri community in Mbaitoli Local Government Area. Chief Amuchienwa died in April 2025.

The matter is before the Imo State High Court Mbaitoli/Ikeduru Judicial Division, sitting at Nworieubi
in a suit marked HMI/144/2025.

On December 5, 2025, Justice Agugua issued a decisive order stating:
“The body of Chief Ifeanyichukwu Donatus Amuchienwa buried against the orders of this court is ordered to be exhumed for the purpose of performance of an autopsy/post mortem examination to ascertain the cause and circumstances of death as prayed, pending the determination of the substantive suit.”

The court mandated that the exhumation and autopsy be completed within 30 days and adjourned the case to January 30, 2026, for a report on compliance.

On Monday, December 22, 2025, as family members and officials moved to execute the court order at the burial compound in Ubomiri, a yet-to-be-disclosed top police officer in the state, reportedly intervened and obviated the order.

However, further insight into the conflict was provided by kinsmen and other locals.
Mr. Peter Oluigbo, a kinsman of the deceased disclosed that the trouble began when one Mrs. Henrietta Amuchienwa, in collusion with one Mr. Godfrey Amuchienwa, allegedly fixed the burial for November 7, 2025.

“This was said to have been done without the knowledge, consent, or approval of the deceased’s children, his larger family, maternal uncles, or the entire village,” Oluigbo stated.

He further revealed that the Ubomiri Council of Traditional Rulers had advised against the seemingly secret burial, but the counsel was ignored by Henrietta and Godfrey Amuchienwa.

Pastor Nwosu Chris, a community member, expressed shock at the events: “I have never witnessed this kind of thing before. Late Ifeanyichukwu Amuchienwa was a prominent personality. We cannot understand how a man of such stature could be buried without the knowledge of his children and family.

“Henrietta and Godfrey Amuchienwa are the architects of this sad situation.”

Pastor Chris confirmed that the family sought the court order due to “deep suspicion over the circumstances of his death and the indecent hurry with which he was buried by his surviving wife.”

Another source who incidentally works in the judiciary and craved anonymity lamented the fact that the police has no business interfering with the exhumation. “Imo seems to always be in the news for the wrong reasons. Why would a judge of a competent court of jurisdiction give a valid order, only to be thwarted and obviated by police officials who are sworn to the enforcement of the law; who are not party to the suit as their involvement in the exhumation is only for security purposes. Imo clearly seems to be operating a different constitution from the constitution of Nigeria for a court order to have been obstructed in such manner.

Findings indicate that the Court had earlier granted an order of injunction against the burial taking place on the 17th October, 2025, but the said order was reportedly flouted by Mrs Henrietta Ogechi Amuchienwa and Mr Goddy Amuchienwa who went ahead with the burial leading to the plaintiffs going back to court to seek for an order of exhumation which was granted.

However, the order was eventually executed after a petition from Mr. Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) was forwarded to the Inspector General of Police on the absurdity and illegality of the police allegedly obstructing valid order of court.

Efforts made to reach Mrs. Henrietta Amuchienwa and Goddy Amuchienwa did not materialise before news time.