The man who allegedly killed his wife in the
Egbeda, Lagos area, Lekan Shonde, has told PUNCH Metro that his wife,
Ronke provoked him by describing vividly how her lover slept with her in a
hotel in Abuja.
Lekan, a depot worker in the Apapa area of Lagos
State, said his wife of eight years changed after she allegedly started dating
the general manager of a publishing company.
The Abeokuta, Ogun State indigene, said he
regretted marrying Ronke, explaining that his late mother had warned him
against the union, but he never listened. Our correspodnent had reported that
Lekan and his wife, Ronke, lived on Tiemo Close, Off Awori Street, in the
Egbeda-Idimu area.
The marriage, which was blessed with two
children, aged six and four, was said to have been marred with domestic
violence.
The crisis culminated in the death of Ronke on
Thursday, after which her husband fled the house and locked up the children
with their dead mother.
He said the last time he beat his wife was three
years ago after a disagreement, saying he had never touched her afterwards.
He said, “Since I married my wife eight years
ago, she has never bought anything into the house. I gave her N5,000 on
Saturdays and N3,000 on Tuesdays for soup. I also gave her money to make her
hair.
“She was working with GTB as a marketer, but she
got sacked three years ago. For that period, I was the one feeding her and
taking responsibility for everything in the family. I would wash her pants,
bathe the children and buy foodstuffs in the house. She later got a job with a
publishing company owned by her uncle.
“But my wife changed sometime in March, when she
started dating the general manger of a publishing company. My wife was going to
the office from Monday to Sunday and she wasn’t going to church again, all
because of this man. She called him ‘Eyitemi’ (My own).
“Last week Friday, she went to Abuja and came
back on Monday. She never told me that the lover was there with her. I learnt
later that the lover was there and they slept together in the same room
for four days.
“When she came back, she didn’t know I was inside
the house. She started talking with the man on the phone that she really had
fun with him and I didn’t know how to make love. She again said her
private parts were paining her.”
He said he confronted his late wife and she
confirmed that she was dating the other man, adding that he asked her to
concentrate on a relationship.
Lekan said his wife refused to leave the house
despite his insistence on her leaving.
Recounting the incident of that night which led
to her death, he said they had had an argument over money.
He said, “It was around 9pm on Thursday. We had
paid our nanny N20,000. Then we needed to pay our children’s teachers
N30,000. I discovered she had taken N20,000 and when I asked her to return my
money, she said she had spent it.
“I was angry because for the past three months,
she didn’t allow me to have sex with her. I pushed her hand away from me on the
staircase and I left her. She never tumbled or fell. In fact that night, I
bought the food that we both ate because she said she didn’t want to cook.
“I didn’t know anything had happened to her until
Friday when I saw her on the staircase. I thought she was still pretending. I
just left her and walked away.”
Asked why he shut the gate against his children,
he said he never did, adding that it was his son that closed that gate.
Lekan also denied taking the victim’s phone away,
saying he left it on the bed.
He said he had no reason to kill his wife, adding
that he bought her two cars and always provided for her needs.
He said, “Jide, her family’s second child lived
with me for three to four years. Their eldest daughter, Bolatito, has lived
with me too.
“Although I am not a saint, I don’t drink, I
don’t smoke. I am a responsible man. The problem with my wife was that she was
temperamental. She shouted at me whenever she talked.
“I am a Lagos boy and I can be in this Lagos for
the next 30 years and nobody would see me.”
Meanwhile, Ronke’s sibling, Bolatito, said their
mother had just arrived in Lagos from Ilorin, Kwara State, adding that the
family would not want to talk about the incident yet.
Our correspondent gathered that Ronke’s brother
and the second born of the family, died in a ghastly motor accident in Abuja.
Bolatito, who is the first born, is the surviving
child of three children.
She said, “My mother just arrived from Ilorin and
the family wants to devote time to attend to her; we don’t want to talk about
the incident. I am not in the right frame of mind to talk.
“But all I want to say is that her husband is
somewhere out there and has been calling. The police should reach out to the
telecommunications company to know where he is. He called me and he said he
wanted to see me.
“He also said he wanted to see his children and I
should tell him where they are because we might never see him again.”
The aunt of the victim, Bunmi, explained that the
suspect had been threatening suicide, saying their mother had forgiven him.
She said, “Mummy is very sad with this, but she
has forgiven him and does not want him to commit suicide.”
A family source told PUNCH Metro that
the domestic violence had been on for some time, saying at a point, the matter
was reported at a police station.
He said the suspect always accused his wife
of extra-marital affair.
He said, “He always beat her because of his
belief that she was into an extra-marital affair.
“The beating reduced a bit when the wife of her
late brother who was one month pregnant before his death, moved into the house
with them. She stayed for about eight months. She was like her saviour.”
The Convener of the Women Arise for Change
Initiative, Mrs. Joe Odumakin, while condoling with the family, said the group
would pursue the case till the end.
She said, “I am shattered and heart-broken.
Their mother had been a widow since they were all little and she has lost two
of three children in less than one year. And it is hard to believe that the
killer husband has been chatting with people, asking to see his children and
blatantly lying that he only slapped her.
“Neighbours must learn to intervene when they
hear unusual noise. And women, who are in abusive relationships, must speak out
before it is too late. Lekan should come out and submit himself so he could be
tried in a court, where he will have the chance to prove his innocence.”
NB: Lekan spoke with PUNCH Metro on the
telephone line provided by his in-law, Bolatito, which was also confirmed by
the police spokesperson, Dolapo
Badmos.
Source: PUNCH
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