Abuja, Nigeria: A grieving clergyman, Mr. David Love, has called for urgent intervention from the Inspector-General of Police following what he described as the unlawful burial of his wife, Mrs. Shimite Love, a former Special Adviser to the Delta State Governor.
Love, who spoke at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday, urged the Inspector-General of Police (I-G) to investigate the Police Monitoring Unit for allegedly compromising their duties and releasing his late wife’s remains without a court order.
According to him, “I call on the I-G to reclaim the property of my wife that was taken over, while also urging the public to refrain from the allegations in the dailies that I killed my wife.
“My prayer is firstly to the Inspector-General of Police, because my wife was illegally buried without my consent.
“The Monitoring Unit must be investigated and compelled to return my wife’s phone, which they are still holding months after her burial.
“Secondly, all of my wife’s belongings by law should come to me as her legal husband. The interference of compromised persons and neighbours in civil matters must also stop.”
The clergy alleged that his wife’s family, in connivance with some neighbours and government officials, forcefully took over a four-bedroom furnished house the couple owned in Asaba, Delta.
He said the property was broken into, and valuables, including a vehicle, were carted away.
He further alleged that his wife’s corpse was released to her family for burial against due process, despite evidence of their marriage and official documents bearing his name.
“They went ahead even to bury her in the name of her ex-husband. I was not part of the burial, which was against the Marriage Act,” he added.
Love insisted that his late wife, who changed her official records after their marriage in January 2024, was known by colleagues and the state government by his surname.
He said the couple formalised their marriage on January 18, 2024, with a registry wedding, followed by the completion of traditional rites on January 19.
He dismissed claims that their union was not legally recognised, insisting that both civil and customary requirements had been fulfilled.
Narrating events leading to her death, he said she fell ill on April 18, complaining of chest and stomach pains similar to what she had experienced the previous year.
Love said his wife, who consistently refused hospital admission, on April 19 sought the service of a pharmacist who treated her at home, administered drips and monitored her condition for two days.
However, in the early hours of April 21, her health deteriorated.
“She woke up around 2 a.m. asking for water, then later became restless and started vomiting.
“With the help of security personnel and neighbours, we rushed her to the hospital. Around 4 a.m., the doctor told me my wife had passed on,” he recounted.
According to him, his late wife had been battling recurring health challenges marked by chest and stomach pains, which she also experienced in 2024.
He said that after the family carried out an autopsy to ascertain the cause of her death, the report showed she died of acute left ventricular failure, hypertensive heart disease and aspiration pneumonitis.
It can be recalled that Mrs Love died on April 21 after a protracted illness and was buried in June.