Ebonyi: Court jails man for evicting wife and destroying house

The Abakaliki High Court in Ebonyi State has sentenced a 39-year-old man, Chituru Mbam, to six months imprisonment without the possibility of fine for forcibly evicting his wife from their matrimonial home and destroying the building.

The court, presided over by Justice Ruth Okeh, also ordered Mbam to compensate his wife, Mbam Ozoemena, N500,000 in damages and provide her with decent accommodation.

The couple, married in 2009 and father of five children, had been experiencing marital difficulties for several years before the incident which culminated in the woman’s eviction and the destruction of the property.

The incident occurred in the early hours of January 6, 2026, when Mbam allegedly broke into the house with two other men and forcibly chased away his wife after moving into a newly completed building.

He subsequently had the woman arrested by the police and detained at the Abakaliki police station.

While in detention, Mbam allegedly dismantled the house, removing the roof, doors, windows and other valuables, leaving his wife without shelter.

The development attracted the intervention of the Rose Foundation for the Protection of Women and Children, a rights organization in Ebonyi State, which petitioned the state Commissioner of Police over the alleged abuse.

The foundation’s executive secretary, Professor Mike Ajanwachukwu, followed up on the matter, which led to Mbam’s arrest and subsequent prosecution.

Delivering sentence on Monday, Justice Okeh found Mbam guilty of the offense and sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment without the possibility of a fine.

In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered him to pay 500,000 naira in damages to his wife and ensure her decent accommodation.

Reacting to the ruling, the woman’s lawyer, Mrs Ijeoma Mike-Ajanwachukwu, commended the court, describing the decision as a clear warning against the forcible eviction of spouses from their matrimonial homes.

He said marriage does not give either spouse the right to subject the other to violence or forcibly make him or her homeless.

According to her, the defendant’s actions contravene the Ebonyi State Prohibition of Violence Against Persons Act, 2018, which provides protection against violence, including acts committed within the family.

“The man evicted his wife from the matrimonial home and continued destroying the house. In the meantime he had moved to a new building somewhere with another woman.

“He made this woman homeless by also using the police and thugs to get her out of the house,” he said.

Mike-Ajanwachukwu argued that the ruling highlights the need to protect women and children from domestic abuse and ensure perpetrators are held accountable under the law.