An Ebonyi State High Court sitting in Abakaliki has sentenced a 39-year-old man, Chituru Mbam, to six months in prison without the option of a fine for forcibly evicting his wife and vandalising their matrimonial home.
The court, presided over by Justice Ruth Okeh, also directed Mbam to pay his wife, Mbam Ozoemena, ₦500,000 in damages and provide her with suitable accommodation.
The couple, who married in 2009 and have five children, reportedly endured years of marital disputes before the incident.
According to court proceedings, Mbam allegedly evicted his wife from their home on January 6, 2026, with the assistance of two unidentified men. He was further accused of arranging her arrest and later stripping the building of its roof, doors, windows and other fittings, leaving it uninhabitable.
The case drew the attention of the Rose Foundation for the Protection of Women and Children. The organisation’s Executive Secretary, Professor Mike Ajanwachukwu, petitioned the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police, prompting an investigation that led to Mbam’s prosecution.
Reacting to the judgment, the complainant’s counsel, Mrs Ijeoma Mike-Ajanwachukwu, praised the court and stressed that no spouse has the right to forcibly eject the other from their matrimonial home.
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She cited Section 6(1) of the Ebonyi State Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, 2018, which criminalises the forceful eviction of a spouse.
