…she took ill and died, says dadResidents of Agility
community at Mile 12 area of Lagos State are presently filled with
anger. This followed the death of an 18-year-old girl, Amaka Nweke.
Amaka
was said to have been beaten to death by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mike
Nweke, for not only dating a Yoruba guy, but also having a baby for
him.
According to residents, the parents were not only enraged
that Amaka was dating a Yoruba guy, but a Muslim to boot. The parents
were alleged to have repeatedly subjected Amaka to torture, including
starving her during pregnancy.
Her father, however, has stoically denied touching Amaka, let alone pummelling her to death.
“Is it possible for a parent to kill his own child?” he asked.
Mike
may have to confront some many witnesses living in his community, who
disclosed that he and his wife were brutal to the girl.
Amaka and
her boyfriend, Ibrahim Lawal, were said to have met when she was in
Senior Secondary School (SSS). The relationship later resulted into
pregnancy, which her parents fumed and kicked against.
She was
later delivered of a baby boy, christened Zaeed. Friends said that Amaka
went through hell while pregnant for defying her parents.
One of the Nwekes’ neighbours, who gave her name as Adebola, said it was unfortunate that Amaka died in such circumstances.
She said; “Amaka went through a lot. She really suffered.
“When
Amaka and Ibrahim were dating, her parents were always threatening her.
They told her that they didn’t want her to continue associating with
the boy. What broke the camel’s back was Amaka’s becoming pregnant for
Ibrahim. Her parents were livid and starved her of food.
“Whenever
her parents were beating her, some of us would approach and beg them to
stop. They used to beat her with different objects even while she was
pregnant. Whenever her boyfriend brought food to her, they would not
allow her to have access to it.”
Adebola explained that when
Amaka was delivered of her baby, her parents couldn’t afford the medical
bill. They had to call on Ibrahim’s family. His family gladly paid up
before the new mother was discharged from the hospital.”
People
thought that the move would diffuse the tension between the two
families, but the Nwekes allegedly returned to status quo.
Adebola
added: “After she was released from the hospital, her parents tried to
prevent the husband’s family from naming their grandchild. But it took
the intervention of the Chairman of the Community Development
Association (CDA) and some elders in the area before the Nwekes released
the baby to them.”
Ibrahim’s mother, Mrs. Ebunola Lawal, said that she reported the repeated beatings of Amaka by her parents to the police.
She
said: “When my son impregnated Amaka, I didn’t reject the pregnancy. I
was already used to seeing them together. When it was clear to me that
Ibrahim was the owner of the pregnancy, I started taking care of the
girl as my daughter-in-law. I, however, noticed that whenever I go to
give her foodstuff, her mother wouldn’t want her to collect it from me. I
used to force her before she would collect it.
“When Amaka was
in labour, her parents didn’t inform us. It was Ibrahim who saw her
mother take her to hospital and alerted us. I couldn’t go to the
hospital that fateful day, but the following day, Ibrahim went to the
hospital to check on her and found she was delivered successfully.
“When
it was time for mother and child to be discharged from the hospital,
Amaka’s parents couldn’t afford the medical bill. They sent for us and
we later paid the money. The parents took Amaka and the baby to their
house, instead of the father’s house.”
Ebunola recalled that on the eight day of the birth of the child, they went to the Nwekes to name the baby, but were rebuffed.
She
said: “We went to Amaka’s house as early as 6a.m. We begged them till
noon before they finally released the baby to us with the assistance of
some elders in the community.
“The parents also gave us two hours
to return the baby. Two weeks after the naming ceremony, my husband and
I went back to Amaka’s parents’ house to check on our grandchild, but
Mrs. Nweke prevented us from seeing the baby and Amaka.
“When the
pressure from her parents to stop seeing Ibrahim was becoming too much,
Amaka told Ibrahim to stop coming. She said that they would be
discussing on the phone. She told him that whenever he comes to visit
her, her parents would pounce on her and beat her mercilessly. Mrs.
Nweke didn’t like Amaka’s union with my son.
“The major issue
that led to Amaka’ death started on January 1, 2020. This was after she
came to our house to collect clothes for herself and the baby, to
celebrate the Yuletide. A few minutes after she left our house, she
called Ibrahim on the phone that her mother had started beating her for
collecting the clothes and money from us. I was informed that her
parents collected the baby from her and locked her in their apartment
and beat her for two days.
“It was in the process of beating her
that she became unconscious. The parents rushed her to hospital in
the neighbourhood and they were referred to Gbagada General Hospital,
where she was confirmed dead on Sunday. When Ibrahim went to check her
at the hospital, she couldn’t stand up or sit. She just lied on the bed.
The most annoying aspect of it was that when they were rushing Amaka to
hospital, they gave our four-months-old grandson to a neighbour,
instead of bringing him to us to mind.”
Ebunola said when she
heard that Amaka’s parents had beaten her again she went to the police
station at Mile 12 under bridge to lodge a complaint.
She said:
“When we went to collect the baby from the woman they gave him to, she
refused to release him to us. But out of pressure, she eventually
released him. I’ll miss Amaka; she was an easy going girl. I accepted
her as my son’s wife because of her attitude. It was her parents that
killed her.”
Ibrahim’s brother, identified simply as Alfa, said
it was unfortunate that Amaka died in such manner because her parents
didn’t want her to marry a Yoruba man.
He said: “There was a day
Amaka came to visit Ibrahim, and both of them later came to my house; as
I was seeing them off, we saw Amaka’s mother. She was coming to look
for her in Ibrahim’s house. Right there in my presence, the woman
started hitting the girl and raining curses on her. She warned Ibrahim
to leave her daughter alone. Amaka suffered a lot in the hands of her
parents because of Ibrahim.”
Amaka’s friend, a nurse, identified
as Omotola explained that when the beating was becoming unbearable for
the deceased; she sought her assistance.
She said: “Amaka called me and asked that I should rescue her. She said that she didn’t want to die.
“When
I didn’t see Amaka for some days, I became worried. I chatted with her
up on Facebook, and she told me that she was sick due to the series of
beatings she received from her parents. She told me that Ibrahim was
bringing money to her to buy drugs. When I couldn’t bear it again, I
went to see her. When I saw her, I noticed that her breathing was
difficult and terrible. I didn’t like the way she was breathing. I went
to a chemist to get her some pain relieving drugs, which I gave to her.
“Before
I left, I noticed she was not improving. I quickly called her father on
the phone and urged him to take her to hospital. I even suggested
taking her to the hospital I work. I heard the following day that the
parents didn’t heed my advice. They didn’t take her to hospital that
day. They decided to take her to the hospital the following day. I don’t
know why they decided to waste the life of that poor girl. Amaka was
punished until she died.”
Our correspondent also located Ibrahim
and tried to engage him on the issue of Amaka’s death, but he just wept
like his heart was breaking. He didn’t say anything.
However, his
father, Mr. Bashiru Lawal, said when Amaka was delivered of the baby,
his family bought her packs of bottle water, drugs and stuffs for baby
and mother.
He said: “But her parents rejected the items.”
But Amaka’s father, Mike, maintained his innocence and that of his wife.
He
said: “Is it possible for a father to kill his only daughter, I don’t
beat my children. My wife is a woman of virtue; she doesn’t beat our
children, she is not a wicked woman. We didn’t beat her because we saw
her going to Ibrahim’s house. Everything Ibrahim’s family said was false
because now I’m in mourning. I came from a Christian family. I warned
my wife to stop disturbing Amaka and Ibrahim. I told my wife that if God
said the union was ordained from Him, they would live together as a
husband and wife. I have never disturbed them.
“When Amaka took
ill, we rushed her to two private hospitals before we were referred to
Gbagada General Hospital where she died.”
When asked about
Amaka’s baby, Mike said they left the baby with a neighbour in Lagos to
take care of him, because he couldn’t take him to Ebonyi State.
He added: “I’m only going to Ebonyi State with Amaka’s mother and siblings.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Bala Elkana, said the command was aware of the issue.
He said: “We are waiting for medical report to ascertain the cause of death. Investigation is still ongoing.”
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