By OKECHUKWU PEACE
Fleeing hubby of late Ronke Shonde whose murder allegedly by her hubby is grabbing headlines has blamed the late mother of two for provoking him.
Lekan Shonde, who is on the run after allegedly killing his wife, Ronke, narrated to PUNCH how his deceased wife incurred his wrath leading to her death at their Egbeda-Idimu, area of Lagos.
Shonde, an oil company depot worker in Apapa, Lagos, said his wife of eight years changed after she allegedly started dating the general manager of a publishing company.
The Abeokuta, Ogun State indigene, said he regretted marrying Ronke, explaining that his late mother had warned him against the union, but he never listened.
Their marriage, which was blessed with two children, aged six and four, was said to have been marred with domestic violence.
The crisis culminated in the death of Ronke on Thursday, after which her husband fled the house and locked up the children with their dead mother.
He said the last time he beat his wife was three years ago after a disagreement, saying he had never touched her afterwards.
His words: “Since I married my wife eight years ago, she has never bought anything into the house. I gave her N5,000 on Saturdays and N3,000 on Tuesdays for soup. I also gave her money to make her hair.
“She was working with GTB as a marketer, but she got sacked three years ago. For that period, I was the one feeding her and taking responsibility for everything in the family. I would wash her pants, bathe the children and buy foodstuffs in the house. She later got a job with a publishing company owned by her uncle.
“But my wife changed sometime in March, when she started dating the general manger of a publishing company. My wife was going to the office from Monday to Sunday and she wasn’t going to church again, all because of this man. She called him ‘Eyitemi’ (My own).
“Last week Friday, she went to Abuja and came back on Monday. She never told me that the lover was there with her. I learnt later that the lover was there and they slept together in the same room for four days.
“When she came back, she didn’t know I was inside the house. She started talking with the man on the phone that he really had fun with him and I didn’t know how to make love. She again said her private parts were paining her.”
He said he confronted his late wife and she confirmed that she was dating the other man, adding that she asked her to concentrate on a relationship.
Shonde said his wife refused to leave the house despite his insistence on her leaving.
Recounting the incident which led to her death, he said they had had an argument over money.
He said, “It was around 9pm on Thursday. We had paid our nanny N20,000. Then we needed to pay our children’s teachers N30,000. I discovered she had taken N20,000 and when I asked her to return my money, she said she had spent it.
“I was angry because for the past three months, she didn’t allow me to have sex with her. I pushed her hand away from me on the staircase and I left her. She never tumbled or fell. In fact that night, I bought the food that we both ate because she said she didn’t want to cook.
“I didn’t know anything had happened to her until Friday when I saw her on the staircase. I thought she was still pretending. I just left her and walked away.”
Asked why he shut the gate against his children, he said he never did, adding that it was his son that closed that gate.
He also denied taking the victim’s phone away, saying he left it on the bed.
He said he had no reason to kill his wife, adding that he bought her two cars and always provided for her needs.
“Jide, her family’s second child lived with me for three to four years. Their eldest daughter, Bolatito, has lived with me too.
“Although I am not a saint, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke. I am a responsible man. The problem with my wife was that she was temperamental. She shouted at me whenever she talked,” he said.
Meanwhile, members of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Destiny Sanctuary, where the deceased worshiped, have expressed shock over the incident, stating that there were never any marks of violence on her before her death.
Speaking to Vanguard, overseer of the parish, Pastor Olu Davids, said “on behalf of the church, we are still in shock over her death. This is because she was a member of this great church. I knew Ronke very well. She and her husband attended our church.
“Though, she had never discussed her marital issues with me, I can tell you that she attended our church regularly. And before the incident of last Thursday, I never saw any injury on her that could have warranted me to ascertain the cause.
“Also, there was no sign on her face to portray that all was not well in the family or that she was ill. As I said earlier, we are in shock because we don’t know what must have led to her death.”
