“The woman who gave me a substance told me that it was a
charm meant to endear my husband to me. I never knew that what she gave me was
acid. All I was trying to do was to keep my husband’s love so that he would not
think of leaving me, because I know that my marriage with any other man would
not endure because of my barrenness.”
These were that words of Remi Agunbiade (38), a resident of
Ita Barika, Foko area of Ibadan, Oyo State, after she was arrested by the
policemen from Iyaganku Division over an alleged attempt to kill her husband,
one Olawale Shola, by pouring acid on him on January 27, 2016.
The incident occurred less than 24 hours after a similar
happening at Oje area of Ibadan where a man allegedly poured a bottle of acid
on the mother of his two kids for reasons best known to him. But the difference
is that while the Oje suspect ran away after committing the act, the Foko
victim, Shola prevented his assailant from escaping as he ran after her and
held her until neighbours came to assist him in preventing the lady from
running away.
Crime Reports learnt that the Foko incident happened at
about 9a.m while Shola was lying down in a room he stayed with his partner,
Remi.
In an interview with Remi after her arrest, the lady, who
also got some of the acid on her skin, claimed ignorance of the substance she
poured on her partner, saying that she thought it was a love charm.
According to her, “I met Shola in 2003 and we have been
together since then. He was the one who forced me to abort for him twice, and
since then, I have not been able to get pregnant again. Then, he had a wife
with two kids.
“When I had my first pregnancy, he said that his wife was
also pregnant with their third child, asking me to abort mine, which I did. He
used to schedule his stay between the two of us. We used to quarrel often and
this got me worried because I knew that if he left me, I would not be able to
have another steady relationship since no man would be willing to live with a
barren woman.
“I met a lady called Iya Azeez at a provision stall at
Agbeni market, Ibadan. During our discussion, I intimated her of my challenges
and said that I didn’t want to leave my husband. She replied that I would have
to resolve the issue through self-help. I asked for assistance to stop further
quarrels between me and my husband and she said she would help me get water
that had been prayed into from an Alfa, stating that all I would need to do is
to sprinkle it on my husband, after which he would love me without holding anything
back. She gave me a bottle containing the liquid substance on Tuesday, January
26.
“On Wednesday morning, my partner, Shola, was lying down
when I took the bottle and poured the content on his head. He cried in agony
from sleep and I also shouted and ran out. But he followed me and caught up
with me beside the house next to ours.
“He asked people to help him hold me so that I would not run
away. By then, a huge crowd had gathered and it was then they started saying
that it was acid that I poured him. Some of the liquid got rubbed on my body
when he held me, giving me some burns.”
The suspect claimed that she did not know the residence of
the friend who gave her the purported bottle of liquid, saying that she only
met the lady about two months ago. She confirmed that she quarrelled with her
husband concerning accommodation, since she already told him that she was tired
of living with him in a room she rented herself.
“I decided to pack everything out of the room to another
place, leaving it bare. His friends intervened and he came to sleep in the room
with me on Tuesday. My action was because I didn’t want to have another
husband.”
She also disclosed that her husband started dating another
lady in her neighbourhood about three years ago, and that the lady used to
scorn her childlessness. Remi added that her husband rented a room for the
lady.
Crime Reports was also at the Burns Unit of the University
College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan where the victim was on admission. He narrated
his experience thus: “Remi and I have been together for over 11 years. My
relationship with her caused a friction between her and my first wife who has
four children for me.
“I used to defend Remi anytime she had a quarrel with my
first wife, especially because she had yet to have a child. At a time, I
abandoned my first wife to be with Remi when the first wife cursed Remi and
said she would never have any child till she would quit relationship with me.
“Also about three years ago, I started dating a lady. This
caused Remi to be threatening her. She even went as far as quarrelling with the
lady. Last year, I discovered that my first wife was already dating another man
because of the neglect she suffered from me. As a result, I called Remi in
October 2015 and told her that I would have to share days of the week between
her and my first wife. Initially, she was angry at my suggestion but later said
I should start in January 2016.
“I went to my first wife twice in January and by the I
returned to Remi’s place, she had changed the lock and had packed all her
belongings and mine. She also collected my phone from me under the pretext that
she wanted to use it. After my friend’s intervention, she returned on Monday,
January 25. But I went to sleep in the third lady’s house. On Tuesday, I went
to Remi’s place and stayed there with her in the bare room.
“On Wednesday, I was lying down, waiting for a friend.
Suddenly, I felt a warm liquid on me. As I opened my eyes, I saw as she was
about to run out and I went after her. I raised the alarm and people came. I
told them that she had already threatened that she would do an unforgettable
thing to me. That was how I was rushed to the hospital.”
Shola admitted asking Remi to have an abortion in the past,
but said it was only once.
The Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Adekunle
Ajisebutu, who confirmed the story, said that the suspect was still undergoing
investigation, adding that she would be arraigned to court at the conclusion of
investigation.
Ajisebutu warned members of the public against adopting acid
as a weapon of revenge, saying that the act was criminal.
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