From Femi Mustapha, in Kaduna
Members of a family in Southern Kaduna have appealed to the authorities to intervene and allow them to bury their mother by their culture and religion, insisting that any attempt to desecrate the Bajju native law and custom is capable of igniting a crisis.
While addressing a press conference in Kaduna on Friday, Mr.Emmanuel Yamai Bakam, who spoke on behalf of the Allahmagani family, said the Allahmagani family of Fadia Tudun Wada in Kajju Chiefdom in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State were saddened that for one year and eight months after the death of their mother, sister-in-law, and daughter-in-law, her burial rites have become controversial and disgraceful.
Accompanied by his uncles, grandfather, and other relatives, Emmanuel said the entire family is sad that a legacy built on Christian virtues has been plagued by a needless crisis due to the uncooperative attitude of some family members who despite all pleas, allegedly refused to listen to the advice of the elders of the Baju community over the issue and also obey judicial pronouncements.
He said, “the crisis began immediately after the death of our mother on September 15th, 2023 at the 44 Nigerian Reference Hospital, Kaduna, when my siblings denied the elders who are the custodians of Bajju native law and customs, access to the corpse of our mother to perform her burial rites.”
“Being her next of kin and the first son of our late mother, I have also been denied access to her corpse even against the express directives of a court of competent jurisdiction to that effect after several litigations.”
He recalled that when their father died about four years earlier, their mother was coerced and manipulated, leading to their father being buried in the sitting room of the house he built in the village, which the community elders frowned at because he did not live up to one hundred years, making it a violation of the Bajju tradition.
“To allow peace to reign against all odds, I regrettably entreated and pleaded with the elders, and the community graciously acceded to my request, which was unprecedented but with a caveat.
However, when our mother died too, she was not up to one hundred years of age, and Bajju tradition stipulated clearly that someone can only be buried inside his or her room after clocking one hundred years of age or holding a traditional title.
And with the Kaduna State Government trying to discourage burials in residential areas, this particular attempt to forcefully bury our late mother in the sitting room under the guise of the need to bury her beside our late father, whose own burial was earlier done in error and under coercion, is untenable.”
He said as a peaceful and law-abiding family and community, they went to court over the matter, and court r
ruled that the body of their mother is released to the family elders for burial.
“Not satisfied with the ruling, my siblings appealed and the Kaduna State Customary Court of Appeal upheld the judgment of the lower court. Instead, my siblings obeyed the court orders that stipulated that the corpse of our mother be released to me, being the next of kin and the first son, for burial according to the Bajju native law and customs.
According to the court order, holding on to the corpse without others having access to it for burial as customarily required, is unjustifiable.”
He alleged that some had resorted to undercutting the judicial pronouncements about the matter by whatsoever means, to subvert and disobey judicial pronouncements.
“At this moment that I am speaking to the Press, the whereabouts of the corpse of our mother are unknown to me and several other family members. And today, 2nd May 2025, I woke up to find the funeral posters of my late mother on the walls of our family house in Shagari, Kaduna.”
I’m appealing here that those who are the custodians of the law – who should be seen upholding and enforcing the law – should not be the ones breaking the law.
It’s even more important to warn that the insistence of the law enforcement on burying my mum against the Bajju customs means they’re heading on a collision course with the natives when they arrive in the community, and that act of lawlessness may result in avoidable casualties and colossal damage to property.
While calling on the authorities to prevent burying his mother against the Bajju customs, Mr. Emmanuel appealed to the Kaduna State Government and other well-meaning Nigerians to wade into the matter to ensure obedience to the rule of law, engendering peaceful coexistence and the protection of the Fadia Tudun Wada customs and traditions against unwarranted invasion, harassment, and intimidation.
“It is also to ensure that the law and customs of the Bajju people are strictly upheld as required by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.
