An Ebonyi State High Court sitting in Abakaliki has sentenced a 39-year-old man, Chituru Mbam, to six months’ imprisonment without an option of fine for forcefully evicting his wife, Mbam Ozoemena, from their matrimonial home and destroying parts of the property.

The court, presided over by Justice Ruth Okeh, also ordered Mbam to pay his wife ₦500,000 in damages and provide her with suitable accommodation, according to a report by Channels Television published on Wednesday.

The couple, who reportedly married in 2009 and have five children, had experienced marital disagreements over several years. Court proceedings reportedly showed that the eviction occurred on January 6, 2026, when Mbam arrived at the residence with two other men and forced his wife out.

The report further stated that the woman was subsequently arrested and detained at the Police Headquarters in Abakaliki. While she was in custody, Mbam allegedly returned to the property and removed its roof, doors, windows and other fittings, leaving the building uninhabitable.

The case attracted the intervention of the Rose Foundation for the Protection of Women and Children. The organisation’s Executive Secretary, Professor Mike Ajanwachukwu, reportedly petitioned the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police, a step that led to Mbam’s arrest and prosecution.

Reacting to the judgment, the complainant’s counsel, Mrs Ijeoma Mike-Ajanwachukwu, welcomed the decision and stressed that spouses should not resort to force to remove one another from a shared home. She also alleged that Mbam had moved into another residence with a different woman. That claim should remain attributed to the lawyer unless independently established.

The case highlights the legal consequences of forcefully evicting a spouse. However, the precise statutory provision cited in the proceedings should be confirmed against the court judgment: the available text of Ebonyi State’s Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2018, addresses forceful spousal eviction under Section 15(1), rather than the Section 6(1) cited in the original report.