Police arrest man for beating girlfriend to death in Lagos

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 23-year-old man, Gbolahan Adebayo, for allegedly beating his girlfriend to death in the Alimosho Local Government Area of the State.

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The police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident to the Punch newspaper on Tuesday.

Mr Hundeyin said visible marks of violence were found on the deceased’s body, adding that her corpse had been deposited at the morgue.
“One neighbour reported at Isheri Osun Division that on 21 February at about 2 a.m., he saw his neighbour, one Gbolahan Adebayo ‘m’ aged 23 years, beating his girlfriend, aged 25 years, in his home in Ijedodo, for a yet-to-be-determined reason,” he said.
“However, at about 7 a.m., the said suspect, Adebayo, reportedly screamed for help and on getting to his apartment, the said girlfriend was found lying unconscious on the bed with visible marks of violence found on the body.
“She was immediately taken to a hospital in Ijegun, where she was confirmed dead by the doctor on duty.”

Mr Hundeyin said that based on the report made, a team of detectives visited the incident scene and the hospital where the corpse was inspected and photographed.
“The corpse was evacuated and deposited at the IDH morgue, Yaba for autopsy. The suspect was promptly arrested and an investigation is in progress on the matter,” he said.

Another account

Meanwhile, a source who lives in the area who spoke to the newspaper said the incident happened on Friday.

The source who gave his name simply as Akin said the deceased was heard screaming for help around midnight while being beaten by the suspect.
“The girl was a regular visitor to the suspect’s home and came around as usual on Friday night. But when it was about 2 a.m, neighbours started hearing someone screaming and later discovered it was the suspect who was beating his girlfriend,” he said.
“The screaming lasted at intervals for about an hour.
“After that, the screaming stopped. It was in the morning that the boyfriend started shouting for help and when the neighbours who were around at that time went to attend to him, they saw the girl lying motionless on the bed.”
When PREMIUM TIMES reached out to Mr Hundeyin to ascertain the name of the deceased on Wednesday, he said this will not be disclosed until the family is contacted.

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“We will not do that till we are sure the family has been properly informed. We do not want families learning of the death of their deceased on the pages of newspapers.”

Gender-based violence

A report by the UN shows that physical assault, a form of gender-based violence on women and girls is widespread, adding that it is usually unreported due to societal pressure to keep silent, victim- blaming, prevailing stigma and internalised acceptance of violence.

Data shows that in Nigeria one in three women between the ages of 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence.
It could be perpetrated by intimate partners and otherwise.