Journalists in Edo state were shocked last
Monday when they came to the secretariat of
the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, in
Benin City and found one Mr Abu Monday
Layasini, a senior Political Science lecturer at
the Western Delta University, Ogharra, weeping
profusely. He alleged that some strange faces
he suspected to be hired assassins surrounded
his house and that they were there to kill him.
The lecturer who disclosed that he had been
having running battles with his estranged wife
which forced him to file for divorce at the
High Court in Benin, said the threat to his life
started since the wife surprisingly told him
that he was not the true father of their only
son, four year-old Abu Stanley. He lamented
that he could no longer sleep in his house
despite reporting the matter at the Eyaen
Police station, adding that his wife was after
his life because he insisted that the boy was
his true son. Narrating his story, he said, “at the beginning
the marriage was very rosy, at a point I was
working at the Ministry of Environment and
later I got an appointment as an assistant
lecturer at the department of Political Science
and Sociology, Western Delta University
Ogharra, Delta State. Somewhere along the
line I started experiencing all kinds of
difficulties relating with my wife at home.
Sometimes she would leave the house for
days and I drew the attention of the family to
it but what shocked me most was when she
decided not to take good care of my son, and
even when I gave her money to cook she
would not buy anything and she often
complained that the money I gave her got
missing.
I have had cause to report the matter to her
siblings and close friends and they made
several effort to talk to her but all to no avail
because she already had a mind set to ensure
that I don’t enjoy the benefit of a happy
marriage life. All the steps taken to manage
the situation fell on deaf ears and when I now
saw that all my effort to see that this matter
was resolved were not yielding the desired
results, I decided to invite my family and her
family but all to no avail. She had fought me
several times in public and torn my clothes to
shred.
“On the 19th of August, 2015, my wife
arrested me and I was locked up at the
Aduwawa Police Station with a fictitious name
of Eraboh Glory contrary to her name on the
marriage record which I told the Police in the
presence of my in-law, a staff of AIT, Mr
Braimah Amozozo, who was responsible for
how I was allowed to go home.
She went to the station claiming that I was
not taking care of my son and I had to show
the police evidence of payment of school fees
and other expenses. More disturbing, she
continued to stay out of the house without my
consent, even when I went to report to her
family they claimed that they didn’t know her
where about and when they called her she
didn’t pick.
My life had been made miserable all these
years because of her cruel disposition, I had
to find a way of running down to NUJ because
my life is now under threat because some
strange looking men I see around in my house
holding dangerous weapons points to the fact
that there is an agenda to eliminate me. She
even told me yesterday that she would kill me.
Just yesterday, we had a little
misunderstanding. This woman I legally
married, had a child for me and I have been
responsible for the upkeep of the child, in
terms of feeding, clothing and medicare. What
is more shocking to me is for this woman to
tell me that I am not father of this child that I
took to UBTH for hydro cell surgery in
November 2016 which was successful. But
when I asked her to name the father of the
child she was kept quiet and could not justify
her claim.
I now want the press and the whole world to
appeal to this woman to tell the world who the
father of the child is so that I can know the
action to take given that I have instituted a
case of divorce against the woman at the
High Court in Benin City”.
But in her reaction, Mrs Glory Abu denied
sending assassin or thugs after her husband
noting that he was only interested in forcibly
taking custody of their only child from her.
She said she had continued to restrain herself
despite the provocation from her husband in
order not to run foul of the law since the
matter was already in court. While reaffirming
that her husband was the true and biological
father of the child she explained what led to
the recent altercation at her business
premises last Sunday.
She said: “As usual my husband came here to
see our son at the shop, I have never denied
him access to our son. He came and started
shouting, calling me a prostitute and all kinds
of names in public. I have tried to avoid him
because I want peace in my life. I have not
been to his house since we separated, he
should please leave me alone, I am not after
his life. I don’t want to kill him and I don’t
know what is wrong with him”.