"I and my children were beaten and kicked out of our house by the
brothers-in-law. We live by begging, in continual fear"
Widow's Stories
Mrs Eve ’s story (WiDO, Enugu State Nigeria)
Mrs. Eve, WiDO member, Enugu State Nigeria
Mrs. Eve, a 26 year old housewife with one daughter, came to WiDO having
heard one of their information jingles on the radio.
“My husband died of TB (and probably AIDS) in August. Since then I’ve
been having terrible difficulties with my in-laws. Although they didn’t
help at all in raising the money needed for his burial, I found on my return
from the hospital that my father-in-law and my husband’s younger brother
had ransacked my wardrobe and removed my husband’s bank passbook and
other things from our house. 
My
father-in-law refused to allow my entry into the family compound to collect
my personal belongings. In fact they told me that thieves had broken in and
stolen everything. I knew this wasn’t
true because I saw some of my sisters in-law wearing my dresses! So immediately
reported this ‘theft’ to the Traditional Ruler and the Police,
and they found some of the so-called stolen items my father-in-law’s
own house.
But things got worse. After my husband’s burial, his younger brother
took over the house we owned in the nearby town! He ejected our tenants and
replaced them with new tenants, and refused to give me any account of the new
tenants’ rent. A little while later my little daughter fell sick, but
my in-laws refused to give me any money which I badly needed for the medical
bills for the child. I did what I could but my resources were few. The child
eventually died.” 
A Vanguard Team member takes up the tale. “By the end of November 2003, we arranged for a Peace/Reconciliation meeting with both families to take place in the Igwe’s (traditional ruler) Palace. Initially her in-laws ignored the Igwe’s requests for them to attend such a meeting but finally in early March 2004, a meeting was held in the home of the Igwe’s representative. This was attended by 4 Chiefs from the Igwe’s Cabinet, members of Eve’s family and her in-laws, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) and our two of our Team. The Igwe’s representative handed over the items found in her father-in-law’s house which were checked by the IPO against Eve’s inventory. Eve took her personal belongings from the items and the bank passbook (bearing a balance of N70,000.00) It was agreed that the Hiace Litace Bus Eve’s late husband had owned and which had been in an accident, should be given to his father.
The meeting then moved to Eve’s husband’s house so that she could
retrieve what personal effects still remained there. Her father-in-law however
initially refused to allow her to take a fridge and a typewriter but after
entreaties, consultations and negotiations, he agreed that she should take
them. 
The meeting then returned to the Igwe’s representative’s house so as to decide what Eve should get from the rest of her late husband’s remaining property, including a gas cooker which was in her late husband’s house in Abuja. Due to the approaching dusk, we could not stay for this phase of the negotiations. Mrs. Eve promised to inform us of the result of the final negotiations but did not do so.
Eve takes up the story again.
“Here we are 6 months on, and I am still trying to recover the money
in my late husband’s bank account. Also apart from the personal effects
I managed to collect during the Vanguard Team’s visit to my in-laws village,
I haven’t heard anything more about my share of my late husband’s
property. But I’m wearied by all this and think I should just give up
any hope of getting anything of my late husband’s property, except for
the gas cooker. I want to start life afresh and forget the whole horrible experience.
I’m also hoping to get married again very soon.”