A young widow, Betty Dennis, has reportedly gone into hiding alongside her two children following a series of alleged threats, abuse, and attempted attacks from her late husband’s family, raising serious concerns over her safety and the growing threats facing vulnerable widows in Nigeria.
Mrs Dennis, whose husband, Mr Dennis Zachary, died in a hit-and-run incident in November last year, has accused members of her husband’s family of persistent cruelty, physical assault, threats of disinheritance, and multiple attempts to harm her after his death.
According to Betty, the tension began while her husband was still alive, as she was repeatedly assaulted and ostracised by her in-laws who allegedly disapproved of her marriage. Speaking from an undisclosed location, she told reporters that the hostility escalated following her husband’s rejection of a woman proposed to him by his family, who later accused her of using voodoo to win his affection.
“While my husband was still alive, I was so hated by my husband’s people to the point that they physically assaulted me at will. But my husband was always coming to my rescue and assuring me of his love,” she said.
After her husband’s sudden death, the situation deteriorated rapidly. Betty alleged that his family rushed to the hospital before her and took possession of all his belongings, including his phone, ATM cards, and personal effects. According to her, they began withdrawing money from his account and excluded her from the burial arrangements.
“They deposited his body in the mortuary and started making burial preparations without my knowledge as his wife. No one informed me of what was happening. No one involved me in anything,” she added.
The widow claimed she was asked to undergo a ritual bath at midnight for seven days in front of her husband’s elder sister’s house as a way to prove her innocence in his death. She also alleged she was told she must remarry her late husband’s younger brother — a demand she rejected on religious grounds.
Further compounding her ordeal, Betty recounted two disturbing incidents in which unidentified male intruders entered her room at night and allegedly attempted to sexually assault her while she was asleep.
She said her mother, who had started sleeping beside her for protection, witnessed one of the incidents and raised the alarm. Both she and her mother were allegedly beaten when they confronted the family.
“They further threatened to eliminate me and my mother, boasting that I will never have access to my late husband’s property,” Betty claimed.
She said she was later hospitalised due to high blood pressure brought on by the stress, adding that the violence continued even on the day of her husband’s burial when some family members stormed the house and attempted to take her children away.
According to Betty, her husband’s younger brother later called her and warned that if she refused to marry him, she would not be allowed to see her husband’s corpse. She said she declined, and true to the threat, the family conducted the burial without her and her children.
“On Saturday, after the funeral, my father-in-law called me and threatened he will make sure that I am disinherited since I am proving stubborn and am refusing to mourn his son and perform the ritual as his tradition demands,” she said.
The situation has taken an even more sinister turn as Betty alleged that gunmen suspected to be hired assassins recently trailed her to her mother’s house. She claimed that threats had been issued by individuals who vowed to track her “even abroad” and ensure she is “sent six feet below the ground.”
The police confirmed receiving a petition and said they have commenced a preliminary investigation. No arrests have been made as of the time of filing this report.
Police Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ogboees, stated that Mrs Betty Dennis and her two children remain missing and that efforts are ongoing to locate them.
A police source disclosed that she is believed to have fled for fear of harm, given the influence of her late husband’s family and concerns about the possible abduction of her children.