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Women Arise, a leading NGO in the fight for women’s rights and empowerment, and CEE-HOPE, a child/girl’s rights and development organisation, recently stormed the premises of a Lagos court to push for justice in a murder case and to hold a rally on domestic violence.
The two organisations were at the Ebute-Meta Magistrate Court December 5 for the hearing of the murder case of Mr. Lawrence Idoko, a Lagos-based engineer, allegedly killed by his wife, Folashade Idoko. The initial report by the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) found the wife culpable. Justice Ariyo denied the bail plea by the suspect’s lawyer and adjourned the case till January 15, referring the case to the high court.
Mr. Idoko, a 33-year old pipeline engineer with Greater Inspection and Industrial Services at Sango-Otta, Ogun State, was allegedly stabbed to death by his wife at their residence at 20, Kosoko Street, Ayetoro area of Lagos State on August 20, 2017.
His wife, a full-time housewife who reportedly trained as an auxiliary nurse and a mother of two, Mrs. Folashade Idoko, was immediately arrested by men of the Lagos State Police Command, and has been charged to court for alleged murder.
From reports by people in the neighbourhood and the victim’s family members, the mid-night killing (via a stab with a kitchen knife at Mr. Idoko’s leg which pierced a major vein) was a culmination of several years of savage attacks on Mr. Idoko by his wife, known to be temperamental and suspicious of every move by her husband. The last attack was triggered by an SMS which the late Idoko got on his phone.
Several neighbours, including the deceased’s landlord, Chief Gani Akanni, who is the Balogun of Ayetoro, testified how the victim tolerated several physical attacks from his wife who was also known for fighting other neighbours and vandalizing properties at will. Chief Akanni also explained how he gave the couple quit notices a number of time owing the woman’s violent tendencies.
The victim has since been buried in his home town in Benue State after an autopsy was duly performed at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) while the wife remains in prison custody in Lagos.
The groups, led by President, Women Arise and leading women’s right campaigner, Dr. Joe Odumakin, armed with a megaphone and surrounded by several staff and volunteers, held a sensitization rally around the court premises and extension of the crowded Oyingbo Market, telling passers-by, shop owners, petty traders and others to report cases of domestic violence to the relevant bodies, seek help where necessary, and in extreme cases, flee violent situations to save their lives in order to avoid tragic outcomes such as what befell Mr. Idoko.
According to Dr. Okei-Odumakin, ‘violence is gender-blind and either men or women could be victims’. She encouraged male victims of domestic violence to ‘speak up before it is too late.’
