Domestic violence is a serious case when reported to the appropriate authorities. Lanre Gentry, the estranged husband of Nollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe,
will appear in court today, following a case of physical assault brought
against him by the Lagos State Department of Domestic and Sexual
Violence Response Team, DSVRT.
A fight between the couple allegedly led to her bleeding, a situation
which informed her decision to storm the office of the Lagos State Women
Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Commissioner, Mrs Lola Akande, on
Tuesday, to report the matter.
Mrs Akande handed over the case to the state Ministry of Justice. The Commissioner said:
“I must commend Mercy’s courage, because what she did
is what other women who are victims of domestic violence out there need
to do. They don’t need to hide it, except they want to die.”
On her part, Coordinator of DSVRT, Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said
the a restraining order obtained against Gentry prevents him from
getting close to his wife until further notice, assuring that government
would pursue the case to a logical conclusion.
Mercy Aigbe’s seven-year-old marriage crashed after photos of her
battered face went viral on the Internet last weekend, as she accused
her husband of physical assault.