Family and friends bade farewell to Chief Linus Egeolu.

The day Thursday June 26, 2025 was a day the Egeolu family of Amiyi Akah Autonomous Community in Njaba LGA Imo State invited families, friends and well-wishers to pay their last homage to a high profile stakeholder in the community and the patriarch of the Egeolu family, the late Chief Nnaoma Di Ebube Udo Linus Obimezie Egeolu, the Ugo Bu Eze Worldwide. On this eventful day, Umuaka Times unusually, sent two of her reporters to cover the event because of the caliber of personalities expected at the burial and indeed men and women of substance made it to the burial.

According to the burial program, the family had left for Aladimma Mortuary Owerri to bring the remains of the 95 year old Chief Egeolu home in a motorcade. Just few minutes after they had left for the mortuary, the atmosphere turned cloudy and in double quick time, unexpected heavy rain began to fall. Many who witnessed the rain and others who were preparing for the Very Important Burial were caught in total despondency as they were afraid that the rain would disrupt the burial activities that had taken months of hard work to plan by a carefully selected burial committee.

Unlike some events, guests expected at the burial defied the rain and successfully made their way to the famous Egeolu family for the epoch-making burial which was turned into a carnival of some sort.

The moment the motorcade arrived Afor Umuaka modern market, the convoy moved straight to the palace of HRH Eze Francis Okechukwu Ahanotu, the traditional ruler of the community. The royal father, his cabinet and the members of Amiyi Akah Council of Chiefs were already waiting to receive their member and perhaps, the oldest among them. Upon the arrival of the corpse of the late Chief Nnaoma Di Ebube Udo Linus Obimezie Egeolu, the Ugo Bu Eze Worldwide, the royal father received his corpse alongside his cabinet and members of Amiyi Akah Council of Chiefs. He prayed and poured libation and the journey home began again. This time around, the ancestral home of the Egeolus which is in a community called Umudimnihe was another port of call. A 21 gun salute was fired to welcome home the man who came, saw and conquered. Without wasting much time, after the brief rituals, the remains of Ugo Bu Eze Worldwide were taken to his residence for lying in state.

The Egeolu family, the people of his maternal home, his kinsmen and women were given the opportunity to pay their last respect for the nonagenarian. One after the other they went into the lying in state room and said goodbye to their brother, father, grandfather and husband. Because time was running against the program, the master of the ceremony directed that everyone should be heading to St Paul’s Catholic Church Amiyi Akah where a requiem Mass has been slated to hold for the repose of the soul of the deceased.

The Egeolu family members and relations who clad in immaculate native attires were conspicuously seen during the service as they made sure that everything went straight as planned. They all sat on the same row during the Mass. As a staunch Catholic family, Umuaka Times gathered that about 15 priests officiated during the requiem Mass. The Bishop of Orlu Catholic Diocese who was supposed to officiate the Mass could not make it but he sent a representative who took the position of the bishop and officiated the Mass.

The priests extolled the life and times of the late Ugo Bu Eze and prayed to God to receive his soul in his paradise. When the Mass came to an end, everyone again went to the Egeolu residence where the body of the 95 year old Nna Oma Di Ebube was was taken to the graveside for prayers and Catholic rituals. At the end of the prayers, the body of the 95 year old father, top community leader, unshakable Catholic faithful and more was interred signaling the end of an eventful era for Chief Nnaoma Di Ebube Udo Linus Obimezie Egeolu, the Ugo Bu Eze Worldwide.