Before the bill was passed, communities held funerals for at least three days and the lawmakers have now moved for a change.
Governor Willie Obiano
The Anambra State House of Assembly on Wednesday passed a bill to stop expensive funerals in the state.
The bill, which was sponsored by the representative of Anaocha II Constituency, Charles Ezeani, now makes it an offence to hold funerals for more than one day in the state.
Before the bill was passed, communities held funerals for at least three days.
Ezeani said, “The Burial/Funeral Control Bill is aimed at cutting down the cost of burials in the state.”
The bill says in the event of death “no person shall deposit any corpse in the mortuary or any place beyond two months from the date of the death, while burial ceremonies in the state shall be for one day”.
The bill makes it an offence to destroy property, fire gunshots, block roads during funerals in the state.
The bill also says “no person shall subject any relation of a deceased person to a mourning period of more than one week from the date of the burial”.
It added that during funerals the family of the deceased “shall provide food for their kindred, relatives and other sympathisers at their own discretion.”
Ezeani told reporters that a monitoring and implementation committee would be set up by the Assembly to enforce the law after Governor Willie Obiano had signed it.