Olarenwaju Gentry, the estranged husband of star actress, Mercy
Aigbe, is the architect of his present predicament.
According to an
official of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation who
spoke to Encomium under the condition of anonymity because she was not
authorized to speak, Mr Gentry’s arrogance and lack of any sign of
remorse when he met with the officials of the ministry was what led to
his being charged with the criminal offence.
She said the ministry’s responsibility is to find a way of reconciling the warring partners in domestic violence issues.
Her words: “Usually, when we go to court, it is to get a restraining
order to prevent the victim from further harassment and intimidation
from the perpetrator.”
She said after this, the couple would be invited by the ministry for counseling.
She backed her argument up with a section of the “Law To Provide
Protection Against Domestic Violence And For Connected Purposes” which
states inter alia, “The law is not to dissolve a marriage. It is not a
law of divorce. It seeks to remove the perpetrator of an abuse from the
venue pending the time the abuse is corrected.”
She said their responsibility is to try as much as possible to
reconcile the couple and encourage them to find peaceful options of
resolving their differences rather than resorting to violence.
She mentioned when the ministry is convinced beyond reasonable doubt
that the partners have learnt their lessons and are now ready to live
with each other peacefully, they will go back to the court to lift the
restraining order.
But where a party to the feud l, particularly the perpetrator of the
violent act, refused to cooperate with the ministry, the case will be
referred to the Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team under the
Ministry of Justice which has the power to charge the perpetrator of the
violent act to court for both civil and criminal offence.
When asked whether that was the case with Mr Gentry, she refused to give us an affirmative answer.
Encomium.ng later gathered from another source that Mr Gentry’s
arrogance and his lack of remorsefulness when he eventually agreed to
meet with the officials of the ministry was certainly responsible for
the quick transfer of the case from the Ministry of Women Affairs And
Poverty Alleviation to Ministry of Justice from where he was charged
before a magistrate court for alleged wife battery. He is liable to
seven years in jail if found guilty.
Right now Mr Gentry is cooling his feet at Kirikiri Maximum Prisons,
Apapa where he will be till Friday, May 12, 2017, when he will be back
in court to perfect his bail conditions.