Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia
A 34 years old lady has accused her husband of six years of physical assault and torture for the whole time they were together.
Emmanuela Chris-Nwachukwu is a young mother of three adorable kids, with the oldest aged 6 and youngest aged 7 months.
The incessant abuse by her estranged husband, Chris Nwachukwu took a rather unbearable dimension in December 2020 and forced the young mother out of her matrimonial home.
In an interview with newsmen in Umuahia, Emmanuela recounted how her husband had severally battered her even before they married.
She disclosed that she was convinced that the guy would change when they married, but has been proved wrong after staying together with him for seven years.
“He started beating me even before we married, but I believed he would stop once we are married, but he continued and it got worse.
He beats me at will, at the slightest provocation, but the last beating I got made me change my mind.
“On the 26th of December, 2020, he took us to the village- my parents house precisely and told me to stay there with the kids while he returned to Umuahia. He said he would be back on the 29th to attend their family meeting on that day and they would meet there.
So on that day, I took my kids and we headed for Nunya my husband’s place since we are both from Isuikwuato. I was even late for the said meeting which had everyone in the family in attendance except my husband. At the end of the meeting, I took my children to return to my father’s house and one of his brothers offered to give us a lift to some junction with his own wife as well.
It was while we were still in the car to be dropped off somewhere that my husband’s call came in and my daughter answered, then he instructed her to give me the phone and I collected it.
He asked where we were and I said in his brother’s car, he immediately got offended and started blaming me for inviting his brother to my parents’ house and I told him he did not visit me that rather he was giving us a lift from Nunya where we attended the meeting.
Again, he asked me why I attended the meeting without his permission. I told him we had planned attending the meeting and he never told me not to attend.
By the following day, he came to Isuikwuato and took us to the family house with everyone returned to their base immediately after the meeting. He started asking me the same question again and I repeated that I acted on his command, and he unleashed terror on me.
He gave me several punches in my face and body and kicked me many times which resulted to the dislocation I still have in my finger.
Remember, I had my last baby through surgery.
No one was around and our house is isolated so my children kept crying for food and attention but he ignored them from around 8am until I was able to do something for them around 2pm.”
According to Emmanuela, she took the picture of herself and sent to her sister in law narrating what happened. It was her sister in law who reached out to Emmanuela’s elder sister Chibueze Osinachi Favour to go get her sister before it would become too late.
Madam Osinachi recalled that she had made such move in the past when he abused her kid sister the same way but on getting to the house, the victim pleaded she should allow her continue staying with her husband.
The man 38, never spared his wife even in pregnancy or during post partum. She has had multiple major surgeries due to child birth and complications, the last being during the birth of their son 7 months ago, yet he beat up a nursing mother over alleged trivial matters.
Since this incident, Emmanuela and her children have been in the custody and care of her sister who she had severed relationship with because of her husband.
Emmanuela who was running the husband’s cyber cafe with him before she left his house, has no means of livelihood and her children (2) are out of school due to lack of funds.
For Emmanuela, she has become disenchanted about the whole relationship but demands financial support from her children’s father to enable her cater for them well.
Investigations reveal that the matter is presently before International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) in Abia state and has also been reported to the police command after the man made attempts to pull down the sister’s door one day.
