July 17, (THEWILL) – Domestic violence, one of several reasons why many have quit their marriages, has been on the increase among prominent Nigerians. SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN takes a look at a few people who were lucky to exit their marriages before it turned ugly and those who were not lucky enough to stay alive
Precious Chikwendu
Former beauty queen, Precious Chikwendu, got married to the former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode in 2014 and ended the marriage in 2020 on allegations of domestic abuse. Chikwendu went through hell while her marriage lasted. She had to battle a series of court cases instituted by the former minister before they eventually had an amicable resolution.
She was allegedly beaten by her husband and locked up for a long time. According to her, Femi kicked her belly when she was pregnant and threatened to remove the child in her womb. She was subjected to so much fear that she could not leave the marriage for a very long time. When she was done, she picked her bag one day and never returned to the house. She released several pictures of the bruises she sustained in the hands of her estranged husband. After she left, she was prevented from seeing her four children. She had a long running messy court case with him until her friends and family stepped in and she was given the opportunity to reunite with her children again.
Ifedayo Olarinde and Opeyemi Oni
Domestic abuse in marriages is not limited to women alone, some men are also victims of abuse in their marriage. Former broadcaster, Ifedayo Olarinde, also known as Daddy Freeze, is one of the few men who battled several domestic abuses in his first marriage to Opeyemi Oni, his estranged wife. The couple lived together for almost 10 years before the marriage broke up via a messy divorce in 2014. Even after the divorce, both of them were still at each other’s throat. There were accusations and counter- accusations. Daddy Freeze posted several pictures of injuries he sustained when still married to Opeyemi on social media. He alleged that Opeyemi once tried to strangle him as they engaged in an altercation. According to him, each time she got angry, she would pick up an object and throw it at him and he sustained injuries as a result of that.
He claimed that his former wife had a faulty background, which affected her emotionally and psychologically. Opeyemi on the other hand alleged that she was the victim of domestic violence in her marriage. She was admitted in a hospital for treatment in 2006 after sustaining injuries from a fight with her estranged husband. Their first son once had a kneecap injury while trying to shield his mother from the series of beating she was receiving from Daddy Freeze. He would record the act while beating her and scream at her to leave the marriage, but Opeyemi stayed because she had no escape strategy and nowhere to go. When she could no longer endure the beatings, she packed her things and left. The two former love birds had two children before they were divorced.
Olujonwo Obasanjo
Just like Daddy Freeze, Olujonwo, one of the sons of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has been a victim of domestic violence. He was once married to Temitope Adebutu, daughter of billionaire businessman and Premier Lotto founder, Chief Kessignton Adebutu. Their wedding was the talk of town in 2017 because of the drama and controversy surrounding the union. It was a union between two influential families.
The mother of the groom, Mrs Taiwo Obasanyo, had opposed the marriage. She had revealed that she received a spiritual warning that her son should not have an elaborate wedding. She dragged both families to an Ikeja High Court because of it, but lost the case. As if the mother of the groom had seen the future, the marriage crashed 13 months after it was contracted. The groom accused his wife of violently attacking him, claiming that it was the reason why he decided to leave his matrimonial home on several occasions.
Uche Eucharia Ojukwu
Elisha Abbo, the lawmaker representing Adamawa North Senatorial District in the National Assembly, came into the limelight after assaulting a lady in a sex toy store. The act was captured by CCTV camera and it went viral on social media. Although he was charged to court for the assault, he wasn’t repentant as barely 19 months after the first incident, he was caught again on video slapping a young man repeatedly in his hometown. After Abbo pleaded for forgiveness, his late wife’s sibling, Eunice Nkechi Ojukwu, revealed that her sister died as a result of the ill-treatment she suffered in the hands of the lawmaker.
Abbo, who was once married but divorced, married late Uche Eucharia Ojukwu in 2009. They met in Yola, Adamawa State where she went to enroll for a Master’s degree after completing the mandatory National Youth Service in Nasarawa State. After the marriage, he started assaulting her physically. He would beat her, tear her dress and lock her outside their home half-naked. Neighbours who tried to intervene were threatened with guns. The lawmaker would also rape his wife and force her to have anal sex with him, which often resulted in more injuries and several stitches on her body. Despite being HIV positive, he hid it from her when they were getting married and still went ahead with the marriage. Uche kept having medical complications after contracting HIV from her husband. When she discovered that she was HIV positive, she confronted him and got the beating of her life for doing so. All efforts made by her family to get her out of the abusive marriage proved abortive as she was adamant that things would get better. She was later diagnosed with osteomyelitis, an infection of the bone. The many injuries inflicted on her, which were not well treated, had led to that infection. She was also diagnosed with kidney failure before her unfortunate death in 2013. Seven years after the unfortunate incident, the lawmaker remarried for the second time.
Chacha Eke Faani
The Nollywood actress walked down the aisle in 2013 to her movie director husband, Austin Faani. Their lives and marriage was a point of reference to fans and colleagues who admired their union because everything looked good and perfect on the outside. Fans were however shocked when in 2020 the actress announced the end of her marriage. The couple was fast to save the situation claiming the actress had bipolar disorder as a result of pregnancy. There was a rumour about domestic violence, but the mother of four quickly refuted that while revealing that her husband had never beaten her or raised his voice against her. It was even alleged that the actress severed ties with her family and labeled her brother a devil because he insisted that she had had enough abuse in the marriage.
The couple even had a fourth child amid the controversy. Two years later, Chacha turned around to reveal that she was finally done with the marriage. She stated that she wasn’t willing to die or go inexplicably missing. She also revealed that the welfare department and police force have recorded videos of her statement and the things she went through in her marriage. As expected, Faani denied her allegation, insisting that he had never raised his hands against his wife.
Osinachi Nwachukwu
The gospel singer is unfortunately one of the few victims of domestic violence who didn’t live to tell her story. The singer was married to her abusive husband, Peter Nwachukwu, for more than 10 years. After her death in April 2022, the tale of the in-human treatment she suffered from her husband was revealed. Her death was caused by the violence meted out on her by her husband particularly on her chest.
The singer’s children opened a can of worms when the Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, paid them a condolence visit. They narrated how their father pushed their mother down from a moving car and didn’t give her money to transport herself home. Despite the fact that she was the breadwinner of her family, she was denied access to the money she made from her singing ministry and her relatives were prevented from having access to her. After her death, the Federal Government charged her husband to court for culpable homicide and domestic violence.
Monalisa Chinda-Coker
Nollywood actress and philanthropist, Monalisa Chinda-Coker, had her first marriage in 2004 to a showbusiness promoter, Segun Dejo Richards. The two were married for five years before the marriage crashed on grounds of domestic violence. On one occasion, the actress attended a public event with bruises sustained from the beating she received from her husband, which angered her colleagues and fans.
Segun Richards often denied his wife access to members of her family, except to Alex Ibeh, otherwise known as Mr Kool, a popular music act in Nigeria who is an uncle to the actress. Sometimes Segun would seize Monalisa’s car and watch her trek or hop on a motorcycle to movie locations. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she packed her things and moved to Mr Kool’s house. The marriage was blessed with a baby girl, Tamar before it packed up. Chinda later found love in the arms of a Germany-based businessman, Victor Tonye Coker in 2016.
Faithia Williams And Saidi Balogun
Former Nollywood power couple, Saidi Balogun and Faithia Williams got married in 2000 at the Ikorodu Marriage Registry, Lagos, but the marriage did not last. The couple broke up in 2006 as a result of infidelity and domestic violence from both parties. The once happy couple had it rough in their marriage as they both physically battered each other. The couple once put up with one of their colleagues, Remi Oshodi, also known as Remi Surutu, before they became financially stable. The actress had to throw them out of her residence because they constantly engaged in physical altercation that usually left them with injuries and wounds to nurse. It took seven years after their separation before Balogun officially filed for divorce in 2013. The marriage was officially dissolved in 2014. Their union was blessed with two children, Khalid and Aliyah, but the two had children from previous relationships.
Mercy Aigbe
Nollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe may have found love for the third time in the arms of movie producer, Alhaji Kazim Adeoti, otherwise known as Adekaz, but her second marriage ended as a result of domestic violence. The actress got married to her hotelier husband, Lanre Gentry in 2013. The marriage lasted six years and they had a son, Juwon before it packed up. The actress suffered consistent beating in the hands of Gentry. She was once battered in the presence of her designer, Abiodun Folashade Tokunbo, popularly known as CEO Luminee. Aigbe had gone to her house for fittings but her husband came over to the place to beat her and forced her to go back home with him. She left the marriage with a broken and bleeding nose.
Muma Gee
Singer cum actress, Gift Iyumame, otherwise known as Muma Gee, got married in a flamboyant ceremony in 2011 in Odiabidi, Ahoada East Local Government Area of River State, to her colleague, Prince Ekeh. She walked out of the marriage after six years of enduring pain and agony from the man who once meant the world to her.
The mother of three sacrificed her music career just to build her home. She became a full time housewife. Unfortunately, her sacrifice did not yield positive results as her husband almost killed her on two different occasions. Once he attempted to strangle her to death. When she could not endure the pain any longer, she filed for divorce while posting pictures of her bruises on social media as evidence of the torture she suffered from the union. She was forced to return to her abandoned music career in order to cater for her three children after her husband moved out of their matrimonial home.
Suzanne Emma
Suzanne Emma suffered domestic violence in her 17 years of marriage to Nollywood actor, Emeka Ike. The Dutch-Nigerian teacher got married to the actor in 2000. They had four children before their messy and controversial divorce in 2017. Emma accused Ike of molestation, torture and incessant beating. His first time to physically assault her was in 2014 and then again in 2015. When the mother of four couldn’t take the abuse again because her health was at risk, she filed for divorce in 2015 at a Lagos Island Customary Court.
The estranged couple had one of the most controversial divorces in the history of the movie industry which lasted for two years. It was riddled with accusations and bitterness. They were finally divorced in 2017. As expected, Ike denied the allegations labeled against him and blamed his marital woes on some members of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, the association where he was a factional leader.
Foluke Daramola
Foluke Daramola was also a victim of domestic violence in her first marriage to Tunde Sobowale, son of Professor Idowu Sobowale, former Commissioner of Education and Special Assistant to the former Governor of Lagos State, late Alhaji Lateef Jakande. She got married to Tunde in 2005 and left in 2008 on the ground that she was physically abused and battered by her husband. However, Tunde claimed that she was unfaithful in her marriage. The couple had two children, Ibukunoluwa Ayomikun and Oluwapelumi Akande, before going their separate ways. Few years after calling it quits, the two found love again and have moved beyond their first bitter experience.
Tiwa Savage
Singer Tiwatope Savage also swallowed some bitter pills of marital violence in her marriage to Tunji Balogun, also known as Teebillz, before it packed up. The now divorced couple tied the knot in 2014 in Dubai. However, in 2016, a year after Tiwa gave birth to their first son, Jamil, their marriage started facing a crisis as the two made some allegations against each other. The singer later filed for divorce in 2018. After she quit the marriage, she disclosed that her ex-husband used to hit her before and after they got married. She also revealed that she had bruised eyes and swollen lips as a result of the physical assault she received.
Ayo Adesanya
Well-endowed actress, Ayo Adesanya and her colleague, Goriola Hassan, were live-in lovers for a long time before they secretly got married in 2000. However, the actress did not enjoy the eight years she spent in the marriage. The mother of one suffered domestic abuse in the hands of her aggressive lover, prompting her to pack out of their home in the middle of the night when Hassan was busy clubbing. The violence she experienced in her marriage affected her acting career for some years before she eventually relaunched it in 2016.
After leaving the marriage, she granted an interview in which she revealed that apart from the fact that her ex-husband could not handle the success of her career, she also left to safeguard her life from the series of abuses meted on her by the actor.
Chika Ike
Actress Chika Ike got married to her ex-banker husband, Tony Eberiri in 2006 and she stayed in the marriagedespite all odds for six years before putting an end to it. The beautiful actress kept mute about her marriage tillthe divorce proceedings started and the former love birds started attacking each other on social media. The actress revealed that she was domestically abused on several occasions. She was beaten several times by her husband, but she stayed because she was young and naïve when she got married. She lost her mind and her pride and battled low self-esteem for a very long time. She later ran for her life when the two had a heated argument and her husband threw a glass jar at her that almost smashed her face. The actress lost a pregnancy as a result of the beatings she got from Eberiri. Although she has since recovered from the trauma inflicted by the failed marriage, she does not seem to be in a hurry to get married again.
Hadiza Zaaki
Hadiza Yadoo Zaaki, wife of music act Zaaki Azzay, also had it rough in her eight-year of marriage to the singer. Yadoo married the love of her life in 2004, but the marriage hit the rocks in 2012. She married when she was just 22 years-old to a man who was almost two times her age. The abuse started before the marriage, but she felt he would change once they got married. Unfortunately, he never turned a new leaf. He would beat her, send her packing and harass anyone who offered to accommodate her in their home. Whenever her mother came visiting, he would search her luggage to make sure that she did not make away with any of his personal effects.
Zaaki once attempted to strangle Hadiza in the presence of one of his band boys. He often threatened her with a machete. Her case was reported to Project Alert on Violence against Women who got her a lawyer to oversee her divorce proceeding and also to represent her in court when her husband reported her to the police alleging that she took thugs to the house to beat up his cousin. The two had three children, Zara, Didoo and Mimi, before the marriage ended.
Lilian Esoro
The flamboyant wedding, actress Lilian Esoro and her husband, Ubi Ekapong Ofem, also known as Ubi Franklin, had in 2015 did not stand the test of time. It packed up barely a year after. The marriage was built on a shaky foundation right from the day Ubi proposed to her. She rejected the ring at first, but was later cajoled before finally agreeing to marry the lawyer turned entertainment entrepreneur.
Before their wedding, Ubi learnt that she was having an affair with another man. The revelation led to an altercation which resulted in some beatings and she got some bruises to show for it. She made up her mind not to stay in such an abusive relationship where she was already being battered before a wedding ring got to her finger. The actress who was already pregnant had her son, Jayden a few months after the marriage. But she never returned to her matrimonial home after having her son in the United States of America. Their divorce proceeding was finalised in February 2021.
