Man inflicts injuries on wife, kid for failing to feed ram

What kind of love would a man have for his domestic animal for him to maltreat his wife and daughter over their alleged failure to feed the animal at the appropriate time?

Not only that, what would make a man prefer using a machete, rather than a whip, to beat his wife and daughter for failing to carry out his instructions?

The above are the questions still on the lips of the neighbours to the Ogunleyes following a recent incident in which the head of the family, now on the run, pounced on his wife and 14-year-old daughter in the middle of the night with a machete, beating them mercilessly with the sharp object for failing to feed his ram.

At the end of the unpleasant incident, Ogunleye, popularly called Baba Eniola, left both mother and child with bloodshot eyes and bruises all over their bodies-all injuries sustained from his unexpected attack on them with the most unlikely object.

For his strange behaviour towards his immediate family, Ogunleye, a resident of Agbede Transformer area in Ikorodu, Lagos, is now a refugee fleeing from justice to escape being made to account for his alleged misdeed.

According to sources, Mrs. Ogunleye and her daughter faced the wrath of the family’s breadwinner in the midnight after they had failed to carry out his instruction to feed his ram.

A resident of the area, Lawal Abolaji, who hinted our correspondent on the incident, said Mr. Ogunleye, who was irked by the attitude of the mother and daughter, pretended to have been pacified by their earlier explanations for their inability to carry out his instructions but decided to wait till the middle of the night, when no one could easily come to their rescue, to pounce on them with a machete.

Abolaji said, “I wonder how a responsible man would want to kill his family because of a ram that they failed to feed. Is the ram more important than his family? I think this man needs a psychiatric test. Imagine, on this night around 12am, we heard a serious noise coming out of their room, and we thought they were attacked by armed robbers or Badoo boys. Everyone was scared, but when we later heard the voice of the young girl outside, we realised it was not robbers or Badoo.

“When we saw the girl and how she was battered, we had to rush her to a nearby hospital to save her life. It was the girl that told us, after she became alright a bit, that her father had been beating her and her mother with a machete for about an hour. When we asked her for her father’s reason for the action, she explained that she failed to prepare food for a ram in the house, and we were all surprised.”

Another neighbour of the Ogunleyes, Mr. Adegbayi Olakunle, explained, “It all happened yesterday here in Ikorodu Agbede. We heard the family screaming and wailing for help at about 12 mid-night. Neighbours rushed down to see what was happening and it turned out to be that the breadwinner of the house was the one flogging both his wife and daughter with a cutlass.

“The doors were locked and nobody could come outside at around 1.am. But after struggling with her father for sometime, the young lady, who had been battered with the cutlass, escaped through the window. She was later rushed to the hospital, where she narrated her story to us.

“She told us that her dad was always abusing her mummy. She said some time ago, her father broke into her mother’s shop and destroyed some goods and also inflicted a deep cut on her hands before she was rushed to the hospital.” 

Olakunle also alleged that Mr. Ogunleye, who later fled from the family’s residence after the incident, threatened to further deal with his wife and daughter.

Ogunleye also allegedly deflated his wife’s car tyres the following morning.

Narrating her experience, Eniola said that her dad earlier asked her to wash some potato pills and feed them to his ram, but she couldn’t because she would not be able to dry the pills due to the rain that fell earlier that day.

She added that she was also unable to carry out her father’s instructions regarding feeding the ram as she had to accompany her mother to collect some money from somebody indebted to her.

Eniola noted that it was the money they intended to buy foodstuff and feed themselves for that day.

She, however, expressed surprise that her father, who did not betray any anger after she and her mother had explained to him the circumstances that made it impossible for them to feed the ram, could pounce on them at midnight with a machete.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Adenike Ogunleye, whose body was still covered with the tell-tale signs of her ordeal at the hands of her husband, told our correspondent that she had suffered series of abuse and domestic violence from her husband over a long time.

She alleged that Ogunleye would have killed her on the day of the incident if not for neighbours who forced the family apartment doors open to rescue her and her daughter.

“That was not his first time. He has turned himself into a monster in the house. On this particular day, he nearly killed me and my daughter, but for neighbours that intervened. I am begging government to save us from him before he kills us,” she pleaded.

The Coordinator of a human rights group, Community Women’s Right Foundation, Comrade Lateef Akinborode, who condemned Ogunleye’s attitude towards his family, assured that everything would be done to ensure that the suspect was brought to book.

“Such action is no more allowed in Lagos State against women and children. We will investigate the case and ensure that justice is sought for the victims,” Akinborode said.

Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Famous Olarinde-Cole, said that his office had yet to receive any report on the incident.

“My office is yet to receive information on such a case; as soon as I do, I will get across to you,” Famous-Cole, an assistant superintendent of police, said.

Quote: That was not his first time. He has turned himself into a monster in the house. On this particular day, he nearly killed me and my daughter, but for neighbours that intervened. I am begging government to save us from him before he kills us