by Samson Folarin
A 23-year-old housewife, Damilola Ayeni, has been arrested by the police in Lagos for allegedly stabbing her husband, Olumide, to death at their house on Bamgbose Street, Lagos Island.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the duo, who got married about two years ago with two children together, had a disagreement at their home on Friday.
The woman was said to have stabbed the 36-year-old husband in the chest.
He was rushed to the Lagos Island General Hospital where he died.
The deceased’s father, Sunday Ayeni, who reported the case to the police, told our correspondent on Sunday that the couple’s marriage was fraught with disagreements.
The Ikale, Ondo State indigene explained that he had tried to intervene, but he was stopped by some family members, who warned him to back off.
He said his son was murdered by the wife over suspicion of infidelity.
Sunday said, “My son and I work at the Lagos Island General Hospital. While I work as a security guard, he worked in the pharmacy department. They got married at the Ikoyi registry.
“They had issues many times and my son reported her to me. I told them to go their separate ways, but people said I should not come between them.
“On Friday, after my son and I closed from work in the evening, he went for a party. Around that time, he called his wife on the telephone and they spoke.
“When he returned home that night, his wife waited for him at the door and stopped him from entering. She said she heard the voice of a woman in the background when they spoke on the telephone and accused him of infidelity. That was how she stabbed him in the chest and killed him. There was no struggle between them. Their two children were taken away by the wife’s mother. She has a three-month-old baby.”
He demanded justice for his son, describing him as gentle and easy-going.
A source, however, told our correspondent that the woman in her statement to the police said she acted in self defence.
The source noted that the Lagos State indigene claimed that her husband was the aggressor.
He said, “The woman said the deceased called her mobile phone sometime in the evening, but she missed the call. When he came back home around 1am on Saturday, he queried her whereabouts when he called her phone. He accused her of infidelity and charged at her with a knife. She then picked the kitchen knife and stabbed him in self-defence.”
PUNCH Metro gathered that the remains of the Ondo State indigene had been deposited in a morgue awaiting autopsy.
The suspect, who was arrested by policemen from the Lion Building division, had reportedly been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Chike Oti, said the Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, was saddened by the rise in spousal killings.
He said, “Early Saturday morning, the police got a report that a woman, Damilola Ayeni, stabbed her husband, Olumide Ayeni, with a knife on the left side of the chest. The victim was rushed to the Lagos Island General Hospital where he died.
“The CP advises couples to resolve their matrimonial disputes amicably without resorting to violence which may ultimately lead to the death of either of them.”
