A 33-year-old woman, Rofiat Okewola, was killed by her husband in Ogun State after she confronted him for sleeping with another woman.
Earlier reports said that the husband, a Lagos-based mechanic, slammed his wife’s head against the wall during an argument over upkeep money.
However, according to The Nation, the deceased, a tailor, was furious when she caught her husband making love to a woman in an apartment in the Owode area of Sango-Ota, Ogun State on August 6, 2023.
She had dashed out of her shop on Bosun Adeyemi Street in the Adalemo area of Lagos State and rushed home to confront her husband and the strange woman but the mother of two didn’t come out alive.
Findings revealed that when Rofiat confronted her husband and his lover who bolted immediately, her husband dragged her outside the love nest and smashed her head against the wall at the back of the building in a fit of fury.
The embattled husband, who works as a mechanic in the Abule Egba area of Lagos State was swathed by an angry mob who intercepted him as he attempted to flee. He was subsequently taken away by men of the Sango-Ota Divisional Headquarters led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO).
The angry mob condemned his action, stressing that he could have simply sent his wife packing instead of killing her.
“Why did you refuse to take the woman to the hospital as soon as she passed out after you brutalised her?” The suspect couldn’t offer any explanation as he babbled his regrets.
One of the friends of the deceased, Biola aka Dasol said: ‘’Rofiat was the chief whip of the tailors association in this community. She was also in charge of the preparation for a party that was to be held by the association. I was to accompany her to the market to purchase some items needed for the party last week.
“I spoke with her on the phone on the day of the incident around 12 noon. Surprisingly, I was at a party when the chairperson of the tailors association at Adalemo broke the news of her death to me on the phone
“I rushed to the scene with another mutual friend of ours and met her lifeless body on the ground. Her husband is hot-tempered. She (Rofiat) used to hide her domestic travails from me. However, there was a day I stumbled on a footage on her mobile phone showing her badly brutalised body as a result of the beating meted out to her by her husband, while I wanted to view some trending fashion styles but she only described it as a long story,” said Biola.
According to her, the deceased had two children, aged seven and six respectively, with her husband.
“Okewole had a wife before he married Rofiat. Rofiat was the jealous type and she told me that she discovered he was having a love affair with one woman called Iya Michael
“Rofiat went to the house to collect some money for food from her husband when she found out that her husband was romping with another woman and she became angry. She went to her mother who lives nearby and her mother told her of the dream she had wherein she saw that Rofiat would have a fatal fight with her husband, hence, she warned her against fighting her husband for flirting with another woman,” she said.
But Rofiat failed to heed her mother’s warning. She went back home and confronted her husband during which the latter smashed her head against the wall. Her husband reportedly tried to flee from the scene but he was intercepted by residents who took him away to their station.
Another source identified simply as Mayowa said: “Rofiat came to my shop on the evening of Saturday, August 5, and she played with my little child. She once told me of how her husband serially brutalised her but I advised her against divorce because the marriage was her second marriage.
“I was shocked when I received the news of her death. When I rushed to the scene of the incident, I saw that her blood was splashed on the wall of the house indicating that her head was smashed against the wall of the building
“Her husband is a mechanic and he has another wife, while Rofiat is his second wife. He killed Rofiat for challenging him while making out with another woman in his residence.”
AbdulHamid Akanji, a chieftain of the tailor association which the late Rofiat served as the disciplinary officer called for justice over her brutal killing by her husband.
“I am shocked that Rofiat was killed and the manner of her death. She was a committed chieftain of our association and served as the disciplinary officer of the association. We want her husband to face justice and the consequences of what he did in accordance with the laws of our country,” he said.
“Until her unfortunate death, she took care of her aged mother among other dependents. Hence her death is a big loss to her entire family. I am seeking the assistance of the public to take care of the little children left behind by Rofiat as there is no one to care for them.”
Spokesperson of the State Police Command, Omotola Odutola, confirmed the incident and arrest of the suspect.
“On the 6th of August 2023, around 4 pm, one Segun Oso (male) of No 19 Alfa Oseni Street, Sango-Ota reported to the Sango-Ota Division that his sister, Rofiat Okewola, 33 years old) of No 5, Odelusi Street, Ijoko-Ota had an argument or something you could call misunderstanding with her husband, Oluwole Okewola of the same address as the wife,” the PPRO stated.
“During the course of the argument, the husband hit the head of his wife (Rofiat) on the wall and she became unconscious. According to the person that reported to the police, the victim was rushed to Life Line Hospital in Ota, where she was confirmed dead on arrival by the doctors on duty.”
“This report made the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Sally Dahiru, visit the scene. The corpse was evacuated to Ifo General Hospital’s mortuary for autopsy and pictures was (sic) taken. The case will be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) at Eleweran, Abeokuta for further investigation.”
