A
32-year-old woman, Precious (not real name), lost the use of one of her eyes
after she was allegedly brutalised by her husband, Samuel, at their home on
Unity Christian
Street, Akesan, in the Igando area of Lagos State.
While still
struggling to raise N180,000, the amount needed for a surgery to repair the
damaged eye, the Akwa Ibom State indigene was allegedly beaten with a cutlass
by the husband, who accused her of sharing their family problem with a
neighbour.
PUNCH Metro
gathered that Precious, a mother of four children, got married to the suspect
when she was barely 14 years old.
She told our
correspondent that she had endured 18 years of domestic violence, adding that
she was fed up with the marriage and wanted a divorce.
She said,
“Sometime last year, my housemaid told me that my husband beat her up. I went
to ask him why he did that, knowing that if anything happened to the girl, I
would be held responsible. When my husband heard that, he left what he was
doing and started chasing me. That was around 10pm. I ran out of the house.
“When I
fell, he stamped on my eye and everything went dark. I visited the Lagos Island
General Hospital for treatment, but they said I would need to undergo a
corrective surgery which would cost N180,000.”
The victim,
who earned N700 per day at a restaurant where she assisted a cook, said she had
not been able to raise the money since then.
She said
sometime in March 2017, their landlord issued them a notice to quit after their
rent expired in December 2016.
Precious,
who claimed to be responsible for payment of rents of their two-bedroomed flat,
said the landlord later gave them a letter inviting them for a meeting with his
lawyer.
She said, “I
went to see a neighbour, called Alhaja, and asked her to counsel me on how to
go about the issue. When my husband returned from church that evening, he
ordered me not to enter the house.
“I then sat
on a bench outside. Suddenly, he brought out a cutlass and started beating me
with it. People in the neighbourhood begged him, but he refused. He used the
cutlass to injure me in the hand. I also fell and injured my leg.”
Precious
said she was ready to separate from Samuel over fear that she could be killed,
saying she was an orphan.
“I got
married to him when I was only 14 because my mum didn’t want me to get into
prostitution like other girls in the village. As of then, I didn’t even know
how to talk to men,” she added.
PUNCH Metro
learnt that Precious reported the case to the Lagos State Citizens Mediation
Centre and the suspect, when invited, denied the allegations.
She was said
to have petitioned the Lagos State Office of the Public Defender, appealing for
help for the custody of their children.
The
petition, dated April 5, 2017, urged the agency to provide her with legal
assistance to enable the suspect to take responsibility for the feeding, school
fees and accommodation of members of the family.
Our
correspondent was told that the suspect was arrested and detained at the Area C
Police Command, Surulere.
PUNCH Metro
learnt that some family members later waded into the matter and pressurised
Precious to withdraw the case from the police station.
The husband,
Samuel, when contacted by our correspondent, said the matter had been resolved.
He declined further comment.
When our
correspondent reached out to Precious on why she withdrew the case, she said,
“I withdrew the case because my children said I should not continue with it.
His mother also said she would die if I didn’t withdraw it. Our church also
begged me. Let me leave everything to God; He will fight for me. I am looking
for funds to relocate from the house because I don’t want to die before my
time.”
The Director
of OPD, Mrs. Olubukola Salami, condemned the withdrawal of the case.
She said,
“This is a classic case of how victims of domestic abuse endure their torment
due to external pressures to stay in abusive relationships just to save the
family’s face. Unfortunately, these situations can lead to fatal consequences.
Women and all victims of abuse must speak out and seek redress as this will end
the the scourge of domestic violence in our society.”
The state
Police Public Relations Officer, Olarinde Famous-Cole, said he would call back.
He had yet to do so as of press time.
Punch
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