Arowolo: My ex-wife preferred her ex-boyfriend

 

LAGOS — Akolade Arowolo, who allegedly murdered his banker wife, Titilayo Arowolo, Thursday, told an Ikeja High Court that his late wife preferred her ex-boyfriend to him and their baby. Arowolo said this while giving testimony in his self defence. He told the court that they got married on August 8, 2008 and were blessed with a child.

Arowolo, who is a graduate of Genetics from the University of Lagos said he met his wife during his post-graduate programme when he helped her to sort out some academic challenges, pointing out that one of the reasons they had problems in their marriage was because of ego and immaturity and not because of violence.According to him, the problems he had with his wife forced him to leave his house to sleep in a friend’s place one night, expressing surprise that the deceased did not call him throughout the night.

Arowolo stressed that he, however,  returned home the next day because he was missing her and the baby, but added that when he got home he decided to check his wife’s telephone to see if she made any calls the previous night.His words: “I discovered that she called three people the previous night when I went through the call logs. I noticed that she called her father, her ex- boyfriend, Ehime and one other person I don’t know; so I didn’t know how to confront her. I was thinking of how to present the matter to her so I decided that I will ask her while we were eating. So, when we started eating I told her that it was not funny that I did not come home last night and she never called me.

She said she did not have credit and I said but you had credit to call daddy,  your ex-boyfriend and one other person and my wife got very angry and said I should never touch her telephone again, that she had the right to call anybody she so wished and in my presence she called her ex-boyfriend.For the first time in our marriage I slapped her and she ran out of the house and left my baby behind.He said he had never for once beaten his wife before that incident when he slapped her in June 2011.

My style was whenever she came home with any funny character, I would leave the house,” he added, even as he also blamed his wife’s family for interfering in their marriage.Arowolo told Justice Lateefa Okunnu that his wife once told him that she did not know why she kept obeying her step mother,  adding that she felt like she was hypnotized by the woman.According to Arowolo, his wife further alleged that her step mum made her do things she would not have ordinarily done.The matter was adjourned till May 22, 2013 for further hearing.