One and a half years after his August 2019 controversial death in China, the body of Mr. Joseph Nwajueze, a Guanzou-based Nigerian pastor, finally arrived Lagos State, on Wednesday, to commence the process of his burial.
Although the questionable circumstance of Nwajueze’s death, in the custody of Chinese police, has yet to be fully explained, The Nigerian Xpress gathered that the body was released to enable the deceased widow and four children return to Nigeria.
According to Festus Mbisiogu, a board member of Nigerians In Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), who spearheaded the campaign of the Nigerian community in China to get to the bottom of the matter, and who was initially on ground at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport to receive the body, the remains of Nwajueze arrived aboard an Ethiopian Airways flight.
It was expected that both the late pastor’s widow, Chinwe, who had reportedly passed out on hearing of her husband’s death, and his children will arrive from China tomorrow, Thursday, February 10. The Chinese authorities had allowed the family to remain in China until all the issues surrounding the controversial death of the pastor were sorted out.
The Oba, Anambra State-born pastor, who had lived in China for 15 years befor his death, was said to be an illegal immigrant and had allegedly died from a fall in the course of his arrest, detention and interrogation by the Chinese police. While one report said he died as a result of injuries sustained from the fall, another said he had actually been tortured and may have been pushed to his death.
His death had, however, sparked widespread condemnation, and protests, by Nigerians, the media, and the Nigerian community in China, and almost led to a diplomatic row between both countries.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who was liasing with both the Chinese authorities in Beijing on one hand, and the Nigerian mission there as well as the Foreign Affairs Ministry on the other hand, even had to visit the Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, where she called for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the Nigerian pastor.
China agreed to release the body after a long-drawn negotiation with the deceased’s family and the Nigerian community in China.
Mbisiogu who, in the heat of the crisis, had advised the Nigerian community to remain calm and not take law into their hands, said he was at the airport to give support to Mr. Izuchukwu Boniface Unachukwu, the brother of the deceased, who was to officially recieve the body.
He, however, called on the Federal Government and Anambra State to assist the family of the deceased, to enable them adjust to life out of China, and without their breadwinner.
Mbisiogu commended the Chinese government for ensuring the corpse was released to the family and flown to Nigeria. He also thanked the Nigeria Consulate in Guangzhou, the CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, as well as the Nigeria community in China, for ensuring the resolution of the controversy that had trailed the death of Nwajueze.
“The release of the corpse is a product of the joint efforts of the Chinese authorities, Nigeria Consulate, and Nigerians in China. These efforts are appreciated. The wife and children would stay back in Nigeria after the burial. To this end, I am appealing to the federal government and Anambra State government where the deceased hailed from to support the family as they begin a new life in Nigeria. The wife and the four kids are in need of help as nothing is left for them to start life ”, he said.
