A family whose daughter died 11 months into her marriage has urged the police to probe her “sudden and suspicious death.”
In a petition dated 11 August and signed by Joe Agbatar, late Henrietta Awen’s elder brother, the family raised suspicion over the cause of her death on 31 July, accusing her husband, Sefa Awen of “negligence, financial exploitation, and domestic abuse.”
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However, Mr Awen’s family has denied the allegations, describing them as unfair and as deepening the family’s grief.
In the petition, a copy of which was made available to PREMIUM TIMES, the Agbatar family urged the assistant inspector general of police (AIG) in Zone 4, Makurdi, to order an autopsy and coroner’s inquest into Mrs Awen’s death.
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The critical hours of July 31
According to the document, Mrs Awen had been battling chest pains for about a week and requested medical care on the evening of 31 July.
At around 6:30 p.m., her husband, Mr Awen, reportedly picked her up from her workplace at the International Market IDP camp in Makurdi.
“Despite her gasping for breath and being unable to walk short distances properly, she pleaded with him to take her to the hospital, which was just 600 metres away,” the petition stated. “But Mr Awen refused and insisted they go home first.”
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A staff member of the family-owned NGO, where Mrs Awen served as executive director, reportedly witnessed this conversation and later relayed it to the family.
By 8:19 p.m., Mr Awen allegedly told the petitioner’s wife over the phone that he had taken his wife to the hospital.
However, when her brother, Mr Agbatar, rushed to the facility before 9 p.m., “the deceased was already dead and cold to the touch,” the petition noted.
Medical staff on duty reportedly confirmed that she had died “for a while” before being brought in.
Contradictions and time gaps
The family raised suspicions about what transpired between 6:30 p.m. and 7:40 p.m., the critical window in which Mrs Awen’s health deteriorated fatally.
They also cited a testimony from a medical doctor who said he received a call from Mrs Awen’s phone at about 7:18 p.m., requesting a prescription.
“Barely 30 minutes later,” the doctor reportedly said, “her cold corpse was brought to me at the hospital by Mr Sefa Awen.”
The family described Mr Awen’s subsequent Facebook post less than 48 hours after his wife’s death as “well considered and self-indicting.” A copy of the post, attached as evidence to the petition, was marked Exhibit D1.
Family excluded from burial plans
Adding to their concerns, the Agbatar family said they were sidelined from their daughter’s burial arrangements.
“To our amazement, our family has been completely sidelined in the burial arrangements and I only got to receive a programme of burial on WhatsApp…which my cousin stumbled on via social media,” the petition read. A copy of the burial programme was attached and marked Exhibit D3.
Allegations of exploitation and abuse
Beyond the circumstances of Mrs Awen’s death, the family painted a troubling picture of her 11-month marriage to Mr Awen.
They alleged that, “He sold their mother’s Toyota Highlander SUV (registration number MKD28RC), which he collected through his wife, promising to replace it but never did.
Instead, he allegedly bought himself a Toyota Camry. He forced Henrietta to loan him ₦4 million from the NGO’s funds, which he partly used to buy land. He pressured her to step down as executive director of the family’s NGO and hand over control to him, just weeks after their wedding in August 2024. He subjected her to psychological, emotional, and physical abuse, including ignoring her calls for help during a health crisis in March 2025.”
In one alleged incident shortly after their wedding, staff of the NGO were summoned by Mr Awen and told: “Since you have always disrespected me, I have gone for the boss and now have her in my pocket.”
According to the petition, Mrs Awen confided in family members about threats and abuse but pleaded with them not to intervene for fear of worsening the situation.
Plan to leave the marriage
The family further alleged that by June or July, their daughter had resolved to end the marriage and was waiting to secure funds to further her studies abroad.
“She might very well have communicated this decision to him,” the petition suggested, “and he, on the other hand, may have made his own plans and executed them by first regaining her trust.”
Husband’s declaration after death
The day after his wife’s death, on 1 August, the family claimed Mr Awen addressed the staff of the NGO with the words: “As you all know, Madam is officially dead now. I am now in charge.”
Call for police action
The petition urged the police to ensure that an autopsy is conducted on Mrs Awen’s remains and to prosecute if culpability is established.
“If Mr. Sefa Awen is found to be culpable,” it stated, “we suggest that Sections 221 and 222 of the Penal Code Law CAP 124 Law of Benue State, 2004 may be applicable.”
The family’s lawyer stressed: “It is our specific request that an autopsy be carried out on the body of Henrietta Doosuurshater Agbatar.”
Awen family rejects claims, calls for autopsy
In response to the petition and the wave of public suspicion it generated, Mr Awen’s family described the accusations as unfair and as deepening the family’s grief.
A member of the family, Victor Awen, said in a Facebook statement that Joe Agbatar, brother of the deceased, had “turned a family tragedy into a public trial.”
“Every coin has two sides. Every story has two voices. And every truth deserves to be heard,” he said. “We kept quiet out of respect for the dead. But now, we choose to speak not to retaliate, but to restore dignity.”
He accused Mr Agbatar of escalating tensions instead of allowing the family to mourn peacefully.
“From the moment Doosuur passed on July 31st, we acted with compassion and cooperation. We called Barr. Joe. We met at the hospital. We agreed on the morgue. We discussed informing Mama.
“We respected the process. We respected the pain. But while we mourned, Joe investigated. He asked for her phone. Then her laptop and iPad. Then her documents. He searched their home without consent. He treated grief like a crime scene,” Mr Awen alleged.
He further said the accused family was blocked from carrying out necessary burial protocols.
“We tried to get her church card to report her death. He withheld it. We tried to get a burial letter. He blocked it. He accused us of murder repeatedly. He refused calls. He ignored the elders. He weaponised silence and manipulated sympathy,” he said.
On the disputed burial arrangements, Mr Awen admitted that his family initially bypassed traditional protocol but claimed it was corrected.
“We acknowledge our mistake in bypassing the elder who gave us Doosuur’s hand in marriage, and remedied the oversight. We apologised. We corrected it. But Barr. Joe’s actions have gone far beyond protocol, sorrow, grief or even shock.”
He also called for an autopsy, echoing the deceased’s family request:
Accused widower yet to speak
PREMIUM TIMES contacted the family of Mr Awen. However, his relative, Victor Awen, said the widower would not be granting interviews at this time.
“Granting an interview now is not appropriate because there are legal issues that need to be sorted out before having any interview,” Victor told this newspaper.
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He added that Mr Awen would be available for an interview after the burial and once the legal matters had been resolved.
Police yet to confirm receipt of petition
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of Benue State, Udeme Edet, told PREMIUM TIMES that she had not seen the petition. “I have not seen the petition,” she said. “But since it was submitted at Zone 4, I will send you the contact information of the person in charge there. I am busy now; I am on the road with the commissioner.”
Follow-up calls were neither returned nor responded to.
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