Badagry Women Development Forum, an NGO, on Tuesday protested the death of a 41-year-old woman following report of alleged domestic violence involving her husband in Magbon, Badagry, Lagos State.
The women, who matched through major streets in Badagry carrying placards with various inscriptions, demanded for justice over the death of Mrs Abosede Oke.
Among the inscriptions on their placards were; “Say No to Women Abuse; Say No to Violence Against Women; Justice for Abosede. Treat us like your mothers”.
The National Daily gathered that Abosede died on July 24, 2021, following injuries she allegedly sustained from a fall three days earlier during a fight with her husband.
According to Ms Mauoyan Oguns, the deceased elder sister, Abosede’s corpse had been deposited in the morgue at Badagry General Hospital, while her husband, Mr Yemi Oke, is under interrogation at Lagos State CIID, Panti, Yaba.
Narrating the incident that led to her sister’s death, Oguns said Abosede, a certified caterer who was hypertensive, allegedly fell from a push by her husband on July 21 and slumped into a coma.
“She was rushed to Badagry General Hospital where she remained on coma until she died on her way to Ikeja General Hospital for scanning on July 24,” she said.
Oguns said the deceased parents had moved her out of her matrimonial home several times but Abosede kept going back, saying she couldn’t leave her children.
“There was a time Oke poured kerosene on her body, threatening to burn her alive; it’s Christiana, her first child, that ran away with matches and alerted neighbours who rescued her.
“We begged my sister to leave her husband but she refused, now Abosede is gone leaving the children she was protecting to suffer.
“Women should learn from her mistake; anyone that is engaging in toxic relationship should quit now before it is too late,” she said.
The coordinator of the protest, Sewede Pot-Balogun, said she rallied round to seek financial help for the deceased but unfortunately she died on Saturday, July 24.
“I was touched by her condition when I saw her in coma at Badagry Hospital, I wondered how a man could do this to his wife,” Pot-Balogun said.
The activist urged women to quit their matrimonial home if they had become a punching bag before it resulted to death.
“If marriage is becoming violent, leave the marriage, it is not compulsory you die in your husband’s house; if your husband is beating you everyday, quit the marriage or seek government assistance.
“It is high time women wake up and speak for themselves, don’t wait until you are dead before people get to know what was happening,” she said.
Mrs Susan Ibrahim, a neighbour to Abosede, described her as calm, nice, quiet and patient lady.
“I have warned her several times that marriage is not a do or die affair but she said she could not allow her children to suffer,” she said.
The protesting women moved from Badagry roundabout to the two council secretariats where they were addressed by the council chairmen.
At Badagry Local Government, the Chairman, Mr Olusegun Onilude, described the incident as “pathetic” as it involved loss of life.
Onilude urged women who were experiencing domestic violence to report to appropriate authority before getting out of hand.
He promised to assist the children of the deceased after a proper documentation had been sent to the council.
At Olorunda LCDA, the Chairman, Mr Samson Olatunde, promised to pursue the matter to a logical conclusion.
Olatunde called on men to shun any act of violence against women, saying that such act is horrible and unacceptable in a civilised society.
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