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.
