More Evidence Needed
AkweyaTV has reiterated that the Odengle family’s demand for the removal of its Facebook posts on the Ogyoma burial crisis is not supported by any evidence that contradicts the information earlier published by the medium. This follows a review of the posts and a takedown request by a party to the conflict.
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In a statement issued by Mr Samuel Inalegwu Igbago, Esq., on behalf of the family of the late Mama Lucy Inogwanya Odengle, on 3rd December 2024, AkweyaTV was accused of publishing “negative and mischievous” reports and was asked to delete multiple posts relating to the controversy. However, according to the medium’s legal advisers, the family’s statement did not present any independent or documentary evidence to challenge the substance of AkweyaTV’s reports.
Family Affair
AkweyaTV had reported that the dispute was between two families — the Odengle family of Ogyoma community and the Ogbu family of Adim community — and not between the Adim and Ogyoma communities as a whole. The station also reported that the deceased woman’s paternal family resisted the request for burial in Ogyoma and that the body was eventually buried in Adim.
These positions were corroborated by public statements made by persons from Ogyoma, including one Mr Abel Ahola Idoko and another unsolicited contributor to AkweyaTV who chose to remain anonymous. The Chairman of Ogyoma community, Mr Opeh Joseph Ochinya, held a contrary view, saying the assailants from Adim came into Ogyoma in numbers larger than one family could boast of.
Agreeing with AkweyaTV
Importantly, Mr Igbago’s own narrative appears to corroborate AkweyaTV’s framing. His account did not show that those accused of violence were acting on behalf of the entire Adim community, nor did it demonstrate that the conflict extended beyond the Odengle family compound into a generalised attack on Ogyoma community. Rather, the allegations focused on individuals identified as Inspector Clement Ogbu and his brother, members of a former Akweya District Head’s family, His Royal Highness Hyacinth Ogbu, further aligning with AkweyaTV’s position that the dispute was inter-family in nature.
In Barr. Igbago’s words:
“What actually transpired was that, on the 28th of November, 2025, around 11:00 a.m. while in company of my family, we were transporting the remains of my late grand mother, Mama Lucy Inogwanya, from Makurdi to Ogyoma Village for burial and upon reaching the Ogyoma Village junction, Insp. Ogbu Clement, who is attached to Zone 7 Headquarters, Abuja, along with over 50 youths from Adim Village laid an ambush for us by illegally blocking the road and burning tyres, the thugs also vandalised a Benue State Civil Protection Guard vehicle, they seized Mama’s corpse, and took it to an unknown destination.”
He also added:
“My attention was drawn to the facts that Akweyatv via their Facebook page has been feeding the public with very negative, biased, mischievous and very wrong narratives with regards to the recent attacks on my family, during the burial of my grand mother, Mama Lucy Inogwanya Odengle, which occurred on the 28th & 29th of November, 2025.”
Attack on Clement Ogbu
The family’s letter also did not address unconfirmed reports that a woman from the deceased Mama Odengle’s family allegedly slapped Inspector Clement Ogbu during a post-burial visit by members of the Ogbu family to the Odengle compound. That visit was said to be an attempt at reconciliation and appeasement after the corpse was seized and reportedly buried in Adim. The statement by Mr Igbago offered neither confirmation nor denial of the incident.
While Mr Igbago did not deny that Mama Inogwanya had been buried in Adim, he implied that the body remains missing, as he said the body was taken to “an unknown destination”. He provided no material proof — such as police records, photographs, or witness statements — to refute AkweyaTV’s report that burial had taken place in Adim. All other public statements, even by the Ogyoma Chairman, Opeh Joseph Ochinya, affirmed that the body was buried in Adim, confirming AkweyaTV’s report.
Provocative Demands
Following the reported seizure of the corpse on 28 November 2025, Barr. Igbago said the following transpired:
“The next day being 29th November,2025 at about 9:30 am, The said Inspector Clement Ogbu and his brother showed up to Odengle’s compound in Ogyoma, Akpa, Otukpo LGA Benue State, uninvited to provoke, taunt and make demands, where the villagers mourners were gathered. He showed up to request for burial food, burial clothes and gun powder. This action provoked members of the family…”
The legal opinion to AkweyaTV contended that “the report showed that Inspector Clement Ogbu, known to the Odengle family as representing Mama Inogwanya’s paternal family, only headed straight for the Odengle family compound and no other part of Ogyoma, neither did he appear with the leadership of Adim community, nor make any statement about acting on behalf of Adim community.”
Dispute Over Custom and Law
The crisis has rekindled debate over Idoma burial customs. The Idoma Area Traditional Council announced reforms to burial custom in January 2024, stating that a married woman shall be buried in her husband’s place, except in special circumstances, including where she was married to and had children for more than one man.
The Odengle family argues that Mama Lucy Inogwanya lived in Ogyoma for more than 70 years and was married there for over 75 years to Pa Odengle, and that the family sought and obtained permission from the Akweya Traditional Area Council to bury her at the Methodist Church in Ogyoma after negotiations with her paternal family in Adim.
Last year, the District Head of Akweya, His Royal Highness Pastor Wilson Great Ahola Pius, visited the AkweyaTV studios to address a similar dispute concerning the burial of the mother the late Bishop Fidelis Orgah. Youths from Otobi community had intercepted the corpse being escorted by a large entourage heading to Adim. The youths ignored pleas from the Most Rev. Michael Ekwoy Apochi, the Bishop of Otukpo Catholic Diocese, and buried the woman’s body in Otobi. The District Head, in his address, said he wanted to enforce the Och’Idoma’s earlier proclamation by allowing the late Bishop’s mother to buried in Adim, but the children of the deceased also violated Akweya culture by trying to bury their mother in a grave they already dug in the house. This was why the monarch had no choice but to allow the burial at Otobi.
Analysts blame the recurrence of this recent dispute on a lack of decisive proclamation by the Akweya Area Traditional Council after that incident. Speaking in an interview on Akweya TV, Engr. Friday Idega, the Councillor representing Allan Ward in the Otukpo Local Government Council, urged the monarchs to always give clear-cut decisions on every dispute, then encourage the victors and the vanquished to forgive one another. He said when there are no clear-cut decisions, community members are left in the dark as to what is acceptable or not.
Police Release Arrested Persons
Sources have confirmed to AkweyaTV that the two men arrested in Adim following the incident have been released. Police authorities have not publicly stated whether charges were filed or withdrawn, or whether investigations continue.
Lawmakers Visit Ogyoma
In a related development, a delegation of political officeholders from Akweya visited Ogyoma on December 1, 2025, following reports of the violence and property damage. The team was led by Honourable Kennedy Agbogo Angbo, Member representing Otukpo/Akpa State Constituency in the Benue State House of Assembly, who hails from Ogyoma, and included Honourable Peter I. Idoko, the All Progressives Congress (APC) leader in Akpa District, and Mr Joseph Onka Edor, the Councillor representing Otobi Ward.
According to a statement from Rt. Comrade Mike Daniel, Media Assistant to Honourable Angbo, the delegation undertook an on-the-spot assessment to evaluate damage to property and livelihoods, gather firsthand information on the immediate and remote causes of the incident, and engage with community leaders and victims. The lawmakers also assured residents of government attention aimed at restoring calm and preventing further escalation.
Update: This story was updated on 4 December 2025, to reflect why the late Bishop Orgah’s mother was interred at Otobi.
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