For Kolawole Aderibigbe, a 35-year-old and former staff of 7Up Bottling Company in Lagos, trusting a woman might be a difficult pill to swallow following the ordeal he suffered in the hand of his wife.
Aderibigbe, who expressed bitterness over his five year marriage with wife, Funke Aderibigbe, 32, cursed the day the couple met.
The couple lives at No 10 Molato Street, Itaoluwo Ajegunle at Ikorodu area of Lagos.
It was gathered that Aderibigbe had financially empowered his wife by setting up a store which he equipped with two million naira following his retrenchment from 7Up six months ago.
But his wife, Funke, however, it was learnt, connived with a neighbour to get him arrested and detained at police custody for two days over alleged domestic abuse.
Our correspondent gathered that the victim’s arrest was not unconnected with his wife’s extra-marital affair, which she was allegedly having with a neighbour, Mr Bode Makinwa.
Mr Makinwa, 59, according to Aderibigbe, is like an elder brother and mentor to the victim.
Our correspondent gathered that Aderibigbe started having issues in his marriage when he began to learn how to drive trailer following his retrenchment from his former place of employment.
“My wife slept with another man and she told me to my face that I was not responsible for the pregnancy,” Aderibigbe told our correspondent in an emotional laden voice.
“And this is a woman I gave all my love and resources,” he added.
Aderibigbe, who averred that the respect of a man “lies in being able to provide for his family”, said he did not like to depend on his wife, despite setting her up in business.
“Because I don’t like staying idle I decided to start learning how to drive trailer. Because of the nature of the work, I may be gone from home for two, three weeks, so I was not having much time to spend with my family.”
This engagement, according to him which often took him away from home for weeks, created a crack in his marriage.
It was gathered that three months into Aderibigbe’s trailer-driving skills, his wife was impregnated by another man.
“Up till now I am yet to come out of the shock of my wife being pregnant for another man. When she told me she was pregnant and that I am not the father, I couldn’t believe my ears. This was like three months into learning how to drive trailer.”
It was not established if his wife had been having the illicit affair with the man responsible for her pregnancy before Aderibigbe began to learn the trailer-driving skill.
Although Funke did not disclose to her husband the identity of the man who impregnated her, it was however learnt that Makinwa might be responsible for the pregnancy.
Both Funke and Makinwa, according to Aderibigbe are usually seen by neighbours together on many accounts whenever he is not around.
Our correspondent gathered that Aderibigbe began to suspect his wife when he wanted to sleep with her but she bluntly refused.
Aderibigbe said the pregnancy scandal was revealed after he made several attempts to sleep with his wife, which she refused.
But she later opened up that she was pregnant, and that he (Aderibigbe) was not the one responsible.
“Since that time, problems started between us. Although I was very bitter, but I still love her. I was ready to take cover up the shame but she became very deviant, abusive and confrontational. She was ready to hit me anytime we have misunderstanding,” he said.
Following his ordeal, the 35-year-old father of one described himself as “a victim of emotional and psychological trauma”.
Our correspondent gathered that Aderibigbe’s harrowing experience climaxed when his wife arrested and locked up him up in police custody at Okorodu for two days, following a scuffle between the couple.
Read Also:
Aderibigbe said that his after locking him up in cell, went ahead and emptied her business store, which her husband fully equipped, and other valuable properties at home and relocated to an undisclosed place.
“The most surprising thing is that my wife arrested me and locked me up in police cell because we had a disagreement. She lied that I beat her. It was like a joke until I was arrested and detailed at the police station for two days.
“The worst and most devastating thing was that before I came back from the police station the third day, my wife had packed away all the things in the house and the goods in the shop and took along our four year old son.
“I spent all my two million retrenchment money to store that shop with goods which I rented for her. I would have been dead if not for the support of some of my friends who stood by me.”
Aderibigbe said following the incident, he was admitted to the hospital as he almost had heart attack.
“For over six weeks, I was in serious psychological and emotional trauma. I spent four days at the hospital to stabilise my BP because it was very high. When I came back home, it was my friends that were supporting me. I almost died. I was forced to curse the day I met her,” he declared.
He noted that since his wife left him since February, he has not set his eyes on her, adding that her whereabouts is not known.
“I have not seen her since then. She left with my kid and her line is not reachable,” he lamented.
When asked if he confronted Makinwa, he said: “I didn’t go to him and he didn’t come to me. But my friends confronted him and he shunned them. This is a man that is like a brother and a mentor to me. I can’t believe he could do this.
“Although my wife did not say he was the one responsible for the pregnancy but from what I see he (Makinwa) is responsible. People had been telling me that both of them have been going in and out whenever I am not around, but I didn’t believe it; now it has finally shown,” he said.
Also speaking, one of the residents and close ally of the victim, Ibrahim Balogun said: “it was unfortunate incident. Nobody could ever imagine this would happen to him. This is a man that is very hard working; a caring father and husband. The wife did very badly. We didn’t believe also that egbon (senior; referring to Makinwa) could do this. When we approached him he ignored us and said it was not his business.”
Corroborating, another friend, simply identified as Akinola, said: “I can never trust any woman again in my life; women are evil. How can a woman who was well taken care of do this to her husband? He takes care of you, your child and family yet you betrayed him so badly. Kola at least from what I know bought two long deep freezers in that store with other things. He spent all the money he got from 7Up on that store. Even egbon does not have what Aderibigbe has. May be he charmed her,” he concluded.
Aderibigbe’s landlord, Mr Kayode Ajayi confirmed the development.
He said: “I was not around when she (Aderibigbe’s wife) packed out of the house. It was when I came back that I was told by other tenants what had happened. They said both Kola and his wife fought and she arrested him. Later they saw her packing things out of the house. They tried to stop her but she shouted them down. That was how she left. If I were at home I would not have allowed her. Kola is a strong man if not he would have died.”
Also, a female tenant, who did not want his name in print, said: “It was just a slight quarrel between the couple only for the wife to come and arrest her husband. We thought it would be settled amicably, but for two days, we didn’t see the husband. It was the following day of the fight that the wife packed out. We tried to stop her but she refused.”
Meanwhile efforts to reach Aderibigbe’s wife was unsuccessful as her residence was not known and her mobile line unreachable.
When our correspondent visited Makinwa’s residence on No. 3 Fakeye Street in the area, he was not around.
However when our correspondent contacted him on the phone to have his take on the matter he was hostile.
He further denied the claim, adding that he did not know what our correspondent was talking about.
