Source: Vanguard
Domestic violence is as old as man. It often occurs in the privacy of the home. Because a man's home is often referred to and regarded as his "castle", whatever a man does within the privacy of the home has often escaped the scrutiny of the public, yet it persists.

Most acts of domestic violence are often against women. Those acts perpetrated by intimate partners remain the most pervasive but the least recognized human abuse in the world. However, only few women sum up courage to let the world know what they have to suffer for the sake of their children even when death stares them in the face.

Just last weekend, tension engulfed the sleepy Kwali Street in Phase 1, Site 2, Kubwa precisely on Saturday, March 31, 2012 between 2 a.m and 4.30 a.m when a husband, Mr Godwin Udonta, 40, allegedly brought out a sword from his car to kill the wife.

The marriage which would be 12 years on July 29th this year, produced two sons, one 11 and the other 7. Wife of the man, Mrs. Nsini Udonta,36, who narrated her narrow escape from death, alleged that her husband came home late in the night with a maniacal desire to snuff life out of her.

Her story

I noticed that my husband was behaving funny in recent times. He would not lie on the bed with me. Rather, he would sleep on the floor and wrap himself up in white cloth. I heard him telling his sister when she came visiting on Friday that he was doing something that warranted that he stayed away from me for seven days. After he had finished discussing with his sister, l told my sister-in-law that I observed that my husband slept on the floor with white cloth all over him.

He then went out at about 4p.m that Friday and that day, l was supposed to attend a vigil with my children but on a second thought, l stayed behind because if my husband returned and there was nobody to attend to him, there would be trouble. He did not return home until about 2 a.m when l heard my phone ring. It was him calling me to come and open the gate.

When l opened the gate, he was not in the car and his cloth looked so terribly rumpled. My instinct told me to see where the car was parked. l moved out a bit and saw the car from a distance with a lady seated in the front passenger seat. As l made to return to the house, my husband was on his way out again that night.

He went out and returned an hour later, around 3 a.m. He called me again to open the gate for him. l did not go out but threw the gate key to him from the window. I opened the kitchen door for him so he could come in through the kitchen and l went to bed.

He came to the bed having undressed and said he wanted to have sex with me and l refused because of what he earlier told his sister that he was meant to stay away from his wife for seven days and it wasn't up to that seven days yet. So, l bluntly refused to sleep with him.

He then told me that I was not spiritually strong, that was why he had to look for a lady that was spiritually strong, that was the lady l saw in the car that night.

I did not utter a word. I just observed he was looking around for something and my instinct quickly told me he might be looking around for a machete. So, l hurriedly stood up and removed the machete from the corridor and hid it in the kitchen after which I sat on the kitchen chair.

He went out and brought that long Fulani sword from the car. When he came into the house with the machete, l asked if he wanted to frighten me with the sword or to scare me, he told me that he would kill me and nobody would ask him. And he meant it.

He targeted to cut off my neck. l closed my eyes and protected my neck with my hand and he then butchered my hand and other parts of my body while blood was gushing out. I was screaming for help from neighbours. My voice cracked and l called out to my children in case l did not survive it so they could tell the story of how their father killed me.

All that didn't move him as he kept macheting me. I tried in that state to run out through the parlour door but he out smarted me and locked the door and put the key in his pocket, insisting that he must kill me. I was crying, telling him that l was dying and needed urgent medical attention.

He didn't answer me but kept on butchering me. When it dawned on me that he was really serious, l pretended to be dead by slumping. That was when he ran out through the window when he saw the children coming out.

When l noticed he was no longer in the house, l opened my eyes and left the sitting room and went to the other room. l jumped out from there as the room had no burglary proof, and behold my neighbours were all assembled outside.

They tried to stop the blood which was gushing out from parts of my body but they could not as my body was already getting cold and my throat dried of saliva. What l could only muster was a plea to them to save my life.

Taken to Hospital

They tried to get a vehicle to convey me to the hospital that early morning, 4.30a.m. There was none and l then told my neighbours that a kinsman lives close by, they took me there and started banging at the man's gate without response until l managed to raise alarm that attracted the attention of the man and he came out, brought his car and took me to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital, the nurses refused to attend to me thinking that I might die there. My kinsman then urgently called the Medical Director who arrived without delay. As soon as he arrived, he said he had to inform the police because I had lost so much blood and might not survive. It was only after contacting the police that they commenced treatment.

Regular battering

He used to beat me before and I left for my parent's house after which he came and started begging me to come back. My parents refused but l told them that l could not stay with them with my two children, hence I needed to return to my husband. Then l returned to him.

That was in 2006. He then promised not to beat me again. He didn't beat me for a while. Later, he resumed the beating. I could not tell anybody, not even my parents because they had warned me not to go back to him.

Secondly, he treats me like a slave. He reduced me to a slave or a house maid who cannot talk or question him. I do not have access to him. I cannot talk to him whenever l wish to. At times, when l tried to force myself to talk to him, he would not answer and when he eventually answers, he shouts at me.

I cannot ask him where he is going or coming from. If he gives me money, l collect and if he doesn't, l manage with my children in my own little way.

Allegation of joining fraternity

I saw Ogboni fraternity form in the house last year December and I confronted my husband about it. He confirmed to me that he joined Ogboni, that he was asked to bring me to join them as well. I told him that must be a joke. He then told me that l should be ready to face whatever comes out of my refusal.

Senior son speaks

The first son of the woman, Benedict who was in the hospital with his mother bared his mind to Crime Guard. "I really feel bad about my dad. The whole thing is affecting me. I wish that my brother, my mum and I should go to my grandparent's house to stay rather than going back to my father's house.

Police reacts

Reacting to the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, FCT, Abuja, Jimoh Moshood said that the police are close to arresting the husband who is presently at large.

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