Some members of Eziowelle Community in Idemili North LGA of Anambra state has broken the long silence over the exorbitant funeral cost in the community.

The community leaders have been accused of forcing every bereaved family to pay the sum of One Million Naira (N1million) as a funeral levy before they bury their loved ones.

On Tuesday, some of the angry members of the community spoke to the media expressing their pain over the issue. They said that bodies of their loved ones spent months in morgues due the inability of the family members to raise the compulsory levy.

The community stakeholders were led by Chief Felix Okafor and Emeka Akukwe. They said:

“As soon as the leadership of the town came on board about three years ago, they imposed a burial levy of N1million on every bereaved family in the community before they can commence funeral arrangements of their loved ones.
“This ugly development have forced many to abandon their loved ones in mortuaries for months until they can raise money to pay for the levy,”
The stakeholders who also accused the leadership of demanding a compulsory levy of N1million to the town union before commencement of any building in the community, said failure to comply to the directive attracted attacks by thugs.