One Ishaq Ojo has alleged a threat to life from his wife after their once blissful marriage of eighteen years turned violent.
In a viral video, Ojo is seen desperately crying for help while trying to escape the grip of his wife, Awawu, who is threatening his life. Their daughter and a female relative were also heard pleading with Awawu to stop the attack.
The incident occurred at the couple’s home in Obide-Ntabo Ibaragun near Ijoko, in Ogun State.
In the recording, Awawu can be heard saying, "I will make sure that I kill you. I have been told to kill you and I will kill you. It is today that you will die."
Ojo, on his part, is heard screaming, "She has bitten me again! She has smashed my mobile phone on the ground…Please, don’t kill me!"
Their daughter is also heard pleading, "My mother, please don’t kill him… I beg you in the name of God, consider the fact that both of you have been taking care of me."
Ojo, a cameraman for a Lagos-based television station, explained that the recording captured moments when Awawu drew a kitchen knife after unsuccessfully trying to suffocate him with a pillow.
He said he had no choice but to cry out for help.
"I fled home more than two weeks ago when she brought out a knife and threatened to kill me," Ojo recounted.
"Our daughter and one of my wife’s sisters held her back from stabbing me, and I had to flee for my life. I had just returned from work when she started an altercation and then went into the kitchen to get a knife."
Ojo revealed that the tension in their marriage began when Awawu denied him sex for more than six months, leading him to take a second wife.
"She had been threatening to kill me even before she found out about the new woman in my life. She trailed my new wife to her residence and threatened her. I took a second wife because Awawu stopped me from making love to her."
Ojo also described how Awawu's refusal to have sex was linked to superstitious beliefs.
"She told me she was having sex with other men, including a rich hotelier, and that I could no longer make love to her. She claimed that having sex with me affected her business sales. She has assaulted me several times, using a screwdriver to stab me and biting me. The scars are all over my body."
Efforts to resolve the issue through religious intervention failed. "I reported her to some Muslim clerics, but she ignored their advice. People advised me to leave my home because she might kill me one day. After she found out about my new wife, she started demanding sex every day and assaulted me if I refused."
Ojo detailed further threats and assaults, which eventually led to his arrest. "She reported me to the police for assault to prevent me from attending my new baby’s naming ceremony. My family and friends pleaded with her, and I was freed after signing an undertaking to never assault her and to desist from seeing my new wife and baby."
Despite interventions from local leaders and public exposure, Awawu's behaviour did not change. "She took the matter to a radio program to malign me. I had to leave my own house to save myself from untimely death. She has two children with me, and I could never raise my hand against her because she is a sickle cell patient."
Efforts to reach Awawu for her side of the story were unsuccessful as she did not respond to calls or inquiries.