Man fighting with wife mistakenly hits and kills their baby, police mount investigation
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
A heated argument between a husband and wife in Elega, Abeokuta turned tragic when the man, identified simply as Olamide, mistakenly struck and killed their one-year-old son with an iron rod intended for the head of the wife.
A video of the scene recorded on Saturday, which surfaced on Monday, shows that Olamide fled after he allegedly committed the crime.
Local residents narrated in the video that they were alerted when they heard noise from the couple’s apartment.
A co-tenant, one Mrs Bolatito, recounted that she was alerted by the wife that her husband killed her son and when she got to the scene, she found out that the couple had engaged in a fight.
She said she was told that Olamide allegedly picked an iron rod attached to the weight he often lifted and attempted to smash it on his wife’s head but the rod hit the son on the head.
“At about midnight (on Saturday), I heard the lady calling out to me that I should come to her aid and that Ola (husband) had killed Ayinde (son). I was surprised, and I asked what happened. She said they had gone to Tyre and I should help them get a vehicle,” the neighbour narrated to The PUNCH.
“I went outside and I couldn’t see anybody, so while I was returning home, I saw some people with a vehicle, so I said that we should take the child to Trinity because it is the nearby hospital in the area. When we got to Trinity, we were informed that the child was dead.
“Upon returning home, we realised that the child was making sounds, so we decided to take him to the hospital again, where we were told that he had died the second time.
“What I learnt was that the husband took an iron rod from a weight he often carried and attempted to smash it on the wife, but instead hit the baby on the head. He has always beaten his wife, as the previous pregnancy the wife had was lost due to the beating from the husband.”
Community Chairman Ramoni Adegbola said he was alerted by neighbours and on getting to the scene, he saw other residents with the child who was feeling restless.
“I heard the noise of help, help, they have started fighting, and I ran to the scene. On getting there, I saw them with the child, and I was informed that the child had been hit with an iron rod on the head.
“I called out to other residents to assist in taking the child to the hospital, and when they returned from the hospital, I was informed that the child was dead.
“The couple engaged in fights frequently, and I feel it’s because the husband often takes illicit drugs. There was a day he took something and he fainted, and I had to call on neighbours to assist in taking care of him.
“He has absconded since yesterday, but I was informed not too long ago that he reported to a police station.”
Ogun Police Command spokesperson Omolola Odutola confirmed the incident, saying, “It happened, and the police are investigating.”
Read also:
Lagos residents stunned by bodies lying on the road, one beheaded, in apparent cult violence
