A pregnant woman in the Ajegunle area of Lagos has accused her fiancé of kicking her in the stomach and causing the forcible ejection of the foetus.
The woman, who lodged complaints against her fiancé at the Ajeromi Police Station, where she simply identified herself as Rukiyatu, said that when she told her would-be husband that she had become pregnant for him, he became very angry and attacked her, using his fist and legs to kick her, resulting in bleeding.
Rukiyatu alleged that her fiancé, Stephen, tortured and attacked her in their apartment at Uzor Street, Ajegunle, where they both live together, claiming the incident led to her loss of the pregnancy.
Rukiyatu said she had waited for his fiance’s brother, Joshua, to return, believing that he would support her, but unfortunately, he took side with his brother.
Rukiyatu alleged that she was surprised when Joshua also began to beat her, even when she was already bleeding, resulting in more bleeding.
She alleged that her fiancé and his brother forcefully aborted the pregnancy, adding that Stephen said he was not interested in having any baby with her.
She said, “My fiancé attacked me because I was pregnant for him. His brother, Joshua also attacked me over the same issue. They almost killed me. Stephen kicked my stomach and blood began to gush out of my body. That was how I lost the pregnancy. What did I do to them to deserve such inhuman treatment? How can a man kick a pregnant woman in the stomach? They wanted to kill me. That was why I ran to Ajeromi Police Station to lay complaint against them. I went to the station even as I was bleeding. The baby is no more. I had to invite a doctor, who treated me because the baby is no more. Stephen and his brother killed it inside my stomach; I had to pay N3, 500 to the doctor who treated me.
“Stephen had promised to marry me when we met about three months ago. I thought having a baby for him would make him happy. He impregnated me. When I told him about the pregnancy, he suddenly got angry and began to beat me. When his brother came to ask what happened and I explained to him, he was also enraged and beat me up.’
“Stephen is an Ijaw man while I’m a Yoruba woman from Kwara State. I don’t even know his surname. All I know is that he is an Ijaw man. I never believed that the person I called my husband would treat me in such a cruel manner. The police at Ajeromi police station ordered him to take me to the General Hospital, but instead, he preferred to take me to a private hospital opposite the station. I told them that I would never go to such a hospital because the medical director is an Ijaw man.”
When asked what her family members were doing about the matter, she said, “They did not know that I’m dating Stephen. Although he had promised earlier to go and see my family members, but I did not know that he was not serious about that.”
According to her, “The police arrested him on Thursday but released him on Friday. If anything untoward happens to me, government should hold them responsible because they are the cause. I did not do anything to them apart from having pregnancy, which they should be happy about. Why should they attack me?”
But when contacted by our correspondent, Stephen declined to comment on the matter.
“I don’t want to say anything yet,” he said.
His brother, Joshua, too, was not available for comments.
