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The
21-year-old marriage between Mrs Ovi Onoberhie and a retired naval officer
Captain Diamond Onoberhie, is on the line after the man allegedly beat up his
wife on the premises of their son’s school in the Anthony area of Lagos.
It was
gathered that the couple had enjoyed a good relationship for years until the wife
decided to take up a job in an airline company sometime in 2012 to the
disapproval of her husband.
It was
gathered that Ovi’s insistence to work with the airline resulted in
disagreements.
Matters came
to a head sometime in 2016 when the retired captain sold their house and took
custody of the 10-year-old son, Dominic.
On December
15, 2016, she had gone to visit the boy in school, Apostolic Faith Secondary
School, when the husband, who was a serving officer then, intercepted her on
the school premises.
He allegedly
beat her up and left with their son, Dominic.
The incident
was reported to the police at the Anthony division and the mother of four
children was directed to a hospital for treatment.
The case was
later transferred to the state police command, Ikeja.
The
42-year-old said she wrote a petition to Lagos State Commissioner of Police,
Fatai Owoseni, on the matter on January 6, through the Lagos State Domestic and
S*xual Violence Response Team.
A copy of
the petition, obtained by Punch, showed that it was acknowledged on January 13.
Ovi said, “I
have been married to my husband for 21 years. When things were not going on
fine in the family, I decided to pick up a job against my husband’s will and he
decided to punish me for that by leaving me with all the financial
responsibilities in the family.
“On several
occasions, he beat me mercilessly. After registering our last son, Dominic, in
Apostolic Faith Secondary School, Anthony, I was refused access to him by the
principal of the school, who said he acted on my husband’s instructions. I
called my husband and he said he could do whatever he liked. All efforts to get
my son from him were frustrated.
“Later, I
was invited by the school chaplain, Rev. Ayo Adeyemo, on a vacation day to see
my son. My husband got angry on seeing me with Dominic in the school’s garage
and beat me up. I screamed in pain and that attracted other parents, the school
management and security men.
“At this
time, I was bleeding and begged the reverend to call the police, but he
refused. I held onto my son and the school authorities took him from me into a
building. Later, they brought him out and forced him into my husband’s car and
his driver drove off.”
Ovi explained
that the CP directed the Area F Command to investigate the matter, and her
husband was invited by the police, but he did not show up.
“The case
was later transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence
Department, Yaba, but till date, nothing has been done. Since he abducted my
son, I have not been allowed to see him or talk to him on the phone.
“My husband,
some naval officers and hoodlums stormed our house on Tokunbo Street,
Alagomeji, Yaba, and ejected me out of the house. I was beaten to the extent
that I suffered a dislocation in my waist. I was admitted in a hospital for two
weeks,” she added.
Husband's
reaction
The husband
described Ovi’s allegations as baseless, saying that she was the one who
started a fight in the school and assaulted the school’s security men.
He said,
“All that she said is far from the truth. Is it possible that I abduct my son?
I am his father, so how will I abduct him from his school? It was agreed that
the child (Dominic) should not be released to her because she does not have
moral inspiration to take care of him.
“I am now a
retired naval officer, and as a result of the economic situation in the
country, I decided to relocate to an apartment that I can afford in Badagry,
and I don’t see this as an issue. She packed from Badagry herself.
“Nobody
invited me. I was even the one who took the matter to Zone 2, Onikan, and she
did not honour the police invitation.”
The school
chaplain, Rev. Adeyemo, told Punch that there was indeed a fight between
Diamond and Ovi on that day, saying that the husband had instructed the
management not to allow the wife to take their son away.
“We told the
wife not to take the child anymore but she came. When the couple met here to
pick the child on the vacation day, they engaged in a hot argument which we
tried to settle. In the long run, the whole issue turned out to be a serious
fight at our school park; but in the end, we were able to mediate.
“The school
management decided that the child should not be allowed to resume for another
session except it gets an undertaking from the parents’ lawyer and the state
government,” he said.
The Lagos
State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, promised that
the command would investigate the case.
He said,
“Any petition dropped at the office of the Commissioner of Police, when
approved, will be assigned for investigation. The case will be investigated.”
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