Residents of Solar Power Drive, Igbo Olomu, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos
State are in shock after a landlord in the community, Omolaja Sodipo,
allegedly stabbed his wife, Titilayo, killing her.
Sympathisers, friends and family members of the mother of four, trooped
to their bungalow on Monday, where Titilayo laid in a pool of blood. The
husband was said to have fled the scene.
Community leaders reportedly alerted policemen from the Owutu division, who removed the corpse and deposited it in a mortuary.
A Punch correspondent, who visited the scene, observed residents discussing the incident. The police had locked up the building.
Although most of the neighbours refused to comment on the tragedy, Punch
Metro gathered that the couple had been married for over seven years.
The relationship was said to be fraught with disagreements, which usually resulted in domestic violence.
A resident, who did not want to be identified, said the disagreements always bordered on the welfare of their four children.
He said, “They came into this community some years ago after building
their house. The man, who was formerly dealing in telephone accessories,
had been jobless for some time. His wife worked with a private school
after giving birth to their fourth child two years ago.
“But they were always at loggerheads, which led to the man beating up
the wife. The man is short-tempered and it appeared the frustration of
his joblessness also got into him. We always heard their voices anytime
they were quarrelling.
“Last night, we heard them fighting again. In the morning, we discovered
that the woman had been stabbed in different parts of her body. She was
lying lifeless in a pool of blood.”
A community leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the
victim’s mother lamented that her daughter had been complaining that
her husband was always beating her.
A female resident, who did not want to be identified, told Punch Metro
that she sighted the suspect walking away from the house around 8am.
Punch Metro learnt that the eldest of the couple’s four children is only five years old.
A member of the Women Arise for Change Initiative, Obatungashe Adebayo,
who spoke for the President, Dr Joe Oke-Odumakin, called for justice for
the deceased, urging women in violent relationship to quit before it
was too late.
He said, “This is the reason we have been campaigning against
gender-based violence. It is becoming rampant. Marriage is not by force.
It is certain that before this incident happened, the woman must have
been seeing signs that the man could take her life. If you are engaged
in a relationship that threatens your life, you should quit.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Olarinde Famous-Cole, said,
“We are still searching for the man. The woman’s corpse has been
deposited in a morgue for autopsy.”
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