LADY WHOSE HEAD WAS BROKE BY HUSBAND NARRATES HER ORDEALS

 

ENUGU

CHUKWUAGOLUM KOSI

 

     A 27 year old Chiamaka Okechi who sustained a serious injury on her head when her husband broke her head with an iron rod.

Mrs. Okechi who hails from Ezeama Mgbagbuowa in Ezeagu Local Government Area, Enugu State. got married at a very young age of 14-years old to her husband, Mr. Obinwanne Chiafo who she had eight children with.

   On Saturday, August 21, she sustained a serious injury on her head when her husband broke her head with an iron rod, where she nearly lost her life due to the violence unleashed on her.

  Recounting her ordeals, Chiamaka bemoaned that her 13-year-old marriage has been filled with anguish and misery and all forms of violence and abuses from her spouse who hails from the same village as her.

Apart from her little subsistence farming, the victim has no other source of livelihood DD and currently lives in a mud house.

She revealed sha been inflicted with torture from her alienated husband when she visited the Women Aid Collective, WACOL, August 24, to report the incident.

  she recounted how she was beaten and thrown out from their matrimonial home by her husband five years ago, including taking custody of her six children without been allowed access to these children.

She further said that Mr. Obinwanne has married two different women after he forcefully evicted her, but she never objected. and even coming to her parents' house to regularly assault her.

She further revealed that her estranged husband returned in 2019 to ask for forgiveness only to get her pregnant for the 8th child and abandoning her again.

 

Chiamaka Narrating her ordeals, “I entered into an early forced marriage at the age of 13 and started giving birth early with the result that I dropped out of school and eventually could not complete my education. “On that fateful day, Obinwanne came to our house and unleashed terror on me. He violently kicked down the door, dragged me on the floor and attacked me. “He pounced on me kicking, and started punching me very hard all over my body, including several heavy blows that landed on my chest. I screamed as a result of the excruciating pain, but he kept on and brought an iron rod which he used to hit my head causing me severe head injury. It was at that point that he ran away. “I bled profusely as a result of the injury sustained yet Obinwanne recklessly abandoned me in that pitiable condition and left. He also threatened to return and kill me. “I went to Police station at Aguobu Owa, Ezeagu LGA, the next town to report the incident and unfortunately police asked me to bring money, but I couldn’t afford it and that was how I came to WACOL from my rural area to Enugu city”, she narrated.

 

She told WACOL that she couldn't return home out of fear that the perpetrator could return and kill her as he threaten to and that she has been suffering from severe pains on her head and chest and also couldn't sleep at night.

 

in her plea she said “I want WACOL and law enforcement agencies to assist me to arrest this man, because I don’t want to die, and I have nobody to run to. Please help me”.

 

Prof. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo OON, the founder and Executive Director, WACOL, assured her of their support and will make sure she gets justice and treatment for her injury. while giving her some amount of money as assistance to take care of her immediate needs.

 

According to Ezeilo, “Under the arrangement, she will also receive free medical treatment, free legal aid, counseling and psycho -social support. WACOL legal clinic will also follow up with relevant law enforcement agencies to ensure that the perpetrator is arraigned and properly charged for grievously bodily injury, including murder threats”.

 

efforts made to reach Chiamaka's husband for fair hearing on the issue was to no avail as he is at large.

 

According to WACOL, “We have tried in our capacity to bring him to our office so as to hear his side of the story but he is nowhere to be found. He has been avoiding the police, even the traditional rulers in the community have done their best to bring him for questioning but efforts was to no avail”, she said.