A 52-year-old housewife and mother of two, Olasunkanmi
Lawal, has lost the use of one of her eyes after a scuffle with her
mother-in-law, Aduke Awakan and sisters-in-law, Bose Showole (39) and Oduntan
Enitan (24), at their family house on Isale-Agbede Street, on the Lagos
Island area of Lagos State.
Lawal, has lost the use of one of her eyes after a scuffle with her
mother-in-law, Aduke Awakan and sisters-in-law, Bose Showole (39) and Oduntan
Enitan (24), at their family house on Isale-Agbede Street, on the Lagos
Island area of Lagos State.
The victim explained that she was attacked because she stopped giving money to the septuagenarian.
She said,
“My husband and I live in the family house and we have been there since 1989. We have two children.“However, my mother-in-law started
keeping malice with me after I stopped giving her money. I lost my
jewellery business due to the demolition of my shop in 2014 and because
of that; I could no longer support her.“On Saturday, January 16, around 4pm, I
returned from work and I met her at home. When I greeted her, she
shunned me. I was surprised because I never had any disagreement with
her.“Before I knew it, one of her children,
Bose (Showole), punched me in the left eye. I fought back. Her
grandchild, Enitan, used stone to hit me in the same eye, while the
woman herself hit me with a chair. Blood started coming out from the
eye.”
She said she reported the assault at the
Adeniji Adele Police Station and from there, she was referred to the
Lagos Island General Hospital, where the doctors told her she had lost
the use of her left eye.
Adeniji Adele Police Station and from there, she was referred to the
Lagos Island General Hospital, where the doctors told her she had lost
the use of her left eye.
The septuagenarian suspect, Awakan, denied the allegations.
In her statement to the police she said,
“It was about 4pm. I was at home when Alhaja (Lawal) came in and
greeted me and I told her not to greet me again.Alhaja is the wife of my son. I asked
her not to greet me because the previous day, she abused me indirectly
and I decided not to reply her greetings again.“So, when she came in and greeted me, I shunned her, but one of my
daughters intervened.”She said Lawal and her daughter had an argument
which degenerated into a fight.“I don’t know how she got injured in the
eye,” she added.
Showole, in her defence, said she
intervened because Lawal, who was her brother’s wife, was “abusing my
mother and pointing a finger at her”.
intervened because Lawal, who was her brother’s wife, was “abusing my
mother and pointing a finger at her”.
“I pushed her hand and she slapped me on the face.“Then we started fighting. She held my clothes and I did the same. I don’t know what happened to her eye,” she said.