hospital bill —Woman matcheted by his husband
Life has not been kind to Damilola, a young mother whose maternal instincts made her confronted her second husband for attempting to have sexual relationship with his step-daughter. That confrontation led to her being matcheted by the man now at large.
In this interview with Fatima Muraina, she narrated her sordid ordeal and begged Nigerians for help. Excerpts:
Can you introduce yourself?
Julius Damilola is my name
How are you feeling now?
I am getting better. Before now I could not move my hand at all, but I can slowly and gently move it now. The Doctor has assured me that I would be able to make use of the hand as before.
The surgical operation was done out of pity because my condition went from bad to worse and they told me that if the operation was not done urgently, I might not be able to use the hand again. The operation was carried out without initial deposit, believing that we would pay for it later. The Doctor said that he had to save my life through the surgery.
What is the cost of the surgery?
He said the surgery alone cost N2.5million; without the normal hospital bill which I have cleared.
Can you recall how the incident happened?
During the long vacation, I received a call from my sister for a contract to sow wedding clothes for some people at Idoani where I formerly resided before joining my husband. I travelled there with my children for the contract, but could not finish the job before schools resumed. I brought my children back to resume studies after which I travelled back for the completion of the contract.
On the September 30, I received a call from my first daughter, Favour through a neighbour’s phone and she was crying. She explained that she could no longer lived with her step father (my husband) and that she was fed up with him touching and romancing her and this made me rushed back home.
On getting home, I confronted my husband and told him that he should know that my children are now his and he should not be doing that to her because he is also her father now. He begged and said it was the devil’s work and that he would never attempt such again.
On Monday, October 2, he said he was going out and I was so happy because I have decided to pack out of his house. If a man could romance his daughter, we cannot tell what next he could do.
I asked why he was not going to work but going out and he responded that he did not have much on him and I offered to help him with N2, 000, so that he could leave the house for me to perfect my plans.
He left and came back in less than an hour, saying that the rain that fell that day had disturbed him from going to work. He called my daughter and gave her N1, 000 to go and buy beans and she left with her junior ones.
That fateful day was a weekend, but my children all left in company of their sister to buy beans. I was sitting in the sitting room. All of a sudden, my husband went inside the room to bring out a filed cutlass, saying that he wanted to go and cut grass at our site. He later dropped the cutlass at the entrance of the room leading to the corridor of the main house.
He came to the sitting room and picked a key from the table and went out. When I noticed he was padlocking the entrance, I stood up and went to the door to ask why he was locking the sitting room entrance but unfortunately he had entered the bedroom and he locked the door behind him.
The next thing he did was that he took the cutlass and started matcheting me. I struggled with him but at a time he overpowered me and kept on using the cutlass on me. When it fell off his hand, he aimed at a hammer using it to hit my head. I struggled with my last strength and moved towards the door and opened it, not knowing that a neighbor had been knocking and trying to open the door which suddenly opened because I have unlocked it from inside.
Immediately our neighbour pushed the door open, I fell down and my husband who thought I was dead ran away. Neighbours later rushed me to the hospital.
While he was attacking me with the cutlass, he kept saying that “my mother had warned me against marrying you and I will kill you today because you have known about my sacrilegious and indecent affair with your daughter and you will expose me, so I will kill you today.
Where are your children?
They have gone to school. No one is taking care of them; we are all sleeping in the hospital here. They go to school from the hospital and come back here to the hospital.
What about your parents?
My mother is late and my father is very old; he is about 85 years. He resides at our village at Okene in Kogi state.
How do you take care of yourself in terms of feeding?
We have been living on charity and benevolence by depending on what people in the hospital here give to us as assistance. People who come to visit have been magnanimous enough to give us alms which we use in feeding.
I am pleading with Nigerians and those that can come to my rescue for financial assistance so that I can pay for my surgery fee of N2.5 million. I am also pleading for help in the area of feeding and accommodation when I get discharged because I do not have where to stay with my children, neither do I have any mean to cater for them because I cannot use the hand to work until it is fully healed.
My belongings have been moved out of my husband’s house to an apartment where the landlord was begged to wait for my discharge before I can pay for the one room apartment we recently got. I have not even seen the apartment because I am still at the hospital.
How many are your children?
I have three children, two girls and a boy. The first is 14 year old; the second is 12, while the last is just seven year old.
What has your family done about your situation so far?
They have tried the little they could because they do not reside here in Owo. My mother is late but I have sisters who are not here except the one taking care of me at the hospital. My father is very old and is back in the village in Kogi State.
Where is your husband?
My husband is Olanipekun Kehinde. He has been on the run since the day he matcheted me.
Why do you not bear your husband’s name?
Julius is the name of my children’s father. I bear that name because I am yet to bear my husband his own child and because he is yet to pay for my dowry.
Since when have you started living together?
We have been going out for the past three years but we started living together in February 2023.
What is your husband’s occupation?
He is a plumber and well digger
Why did you move in with him when he has not paid your dowry?
It is because he has introduced me to his family and some of my sisters have equally known him. Also, we were planning to visit my family before this happened.
Has any arrest been made? And do you know any of his friends?
No arrest has been made and I know few of his friends who stay here in Owo.
What was the level of injury inflicted on your body.
It affected my whole body, the cuts were deep. I have deep cuts in three places, my head, my back, and many other parts of my body had serious cuts.
Have you received messages from the Police?
They have been coming to visit me. Officers from both the Owo and Akure Divisions of the Police have been coming to see to my welfare.
How did you meet?
We met at Idoani, at a house beside my sister’s house where I was living. He normally comes to visit his friend whose wife is a friend and we played and gisted together. That was how and where we became friends and started going out.
Why did you leave your former husband?
I am an artisan, a fashion designer and he is a farmer and wanted me to quit my trade for his own. That was what led to our separation and I packed out of his house.
What do you want Nigerians to do for you?
I seriously need their help to pay for my surgery. I have only raised less than N600,000. I also want to appeal to them for accommodation as well as catering for my children because I cannot use the hand for any work now and we have to survive.
I would have been discharged, but I have not paid the debt of N2.5 million. The doctor said I should keep on with the regular exercise which he said would help me get back better.
Nigerians should please come to my aid, I plead.
