UTE-OKPU, DELTA STATE – A solemn occasion turned into a scene of chaos and criminality last Friday as the burial ceremony for the late Elder Gilbert Ibegbulem in Ute-Okpu, father of the Principal Secretary to the immediate past Governor Okowa was followed by widespread vandalism, looting, and a high-value burglary.
The incident has drawn swift and furious condemnation from the community’s highest representative body, the Ute-Okpu Development Union (UDU).
The burial, held on October 11, 2025, at the Ute-Okpu Grammar School compound, was meant to be a respectful send-off.
However, according to a statement released by the UDU, the event was immediately followed by reports of “properties destroyed, vandalized, and looted.”
The body noted that the most alarming revelation was the report of burglary of the bereaved family’s residence.
The UDU stated that while the burial ceremony was underway, the home was broken into, with thieves making off with “cash and drinks worth millions of naira.”
In a strongly worded press statement, the UDU National Executive Council branded the act as “not only criminal but a sacrilegious affront to the values, culture, and moral uprightness for which Ute-Okpu Kingdom is known.”
The UDU, speaking on behalf of His Royal Majesty, the Obi of Ute-Okpu Kingdom, the Obi-in-Council, and the entire Ute-Okpu people, has vowed that the perpetrators will face the severest of consequences.
”This shameful behavior has dragged the name of our great Kingdom into disrepute and will not go unpunished,” the statement read.
The union announced a resolution to escalate the matter to the Obi and the traditional elders, the Ụhụịzàmàs, to seek “the severest of traditional actions” against all individuals involved.
This includes those who participated, aided, or even “stood by silently while these atrocities were committed.”
Furthermore, the UDU issued a stern warning that anyone found to be in possession of the stolen items or who has credible information but remains silent will also be deemed an accomplice and “shall be counted among those who have invoked the anger of the land and its ancestors.”
The UDU’s Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ehiwuogu Ucheonye, who signed the statement, issued a direct appeal to the community, just as he called upon all “true sons and daughters of Ute-Okpu” with credible information, eyewitness accounts, or evidence to “come forward immediately and report” to the UDU Executive Council or the appropriate security authorities.
The union concluded by re-emphasizing Ute-Okpu’s commitment to peace and integrity. “We do not harbour thieves, vandals, or those who mock the sacredness of life and death,” the statement affirmed, assuring the family of the late Elder Ibegbulem that “Justice shall prevail, and the truth shall come to light.”
Though, while this press statement was made, this platform was yet to know what the union would do and the exact nature of the traditional actions that will be taken, the same way it was not clear as at the time of writing this report if it had been formally reported to the police for further investigation
