Yesterday, Lekan Shonde who was alleged to have beaten wife,Ronke to death on Thursday night
and fled,turned himself in.However, his close friends claim he did not kill his wife, Ronke.
Since leaving home, the suspect was said to have move from Cotonou, Benin Republic to Badagry and Ondo State.
According to the Nation,
he was convinced to come back to Lagos from Ondo State on Sunday
night.According to a police source, Shonde, who is from Ogun State,
eventually listened to the advice of his friends and relatives and
returned to Lagos, but stayed in a hotel at Ikeja GRA.
It was gathered that undercover detectives from RRS were already in
the hotel before his friends took him to Disu’s office at about
1pm.Shonde, it was gathered wept, claiming that he did not kill his
wife.
Although the police shielded Shonde from reporters, his friends,
Sunday Nwobi and Gbenga Sholuki, who claimed to have known him for over
30 years, said he is not violent.
They claimed that he loved his wife so much that he allowed her to keep the family’s account.
“At the moment he has nothing because even the money he makes was
kept in an account the wife has access to. Even the ATM card is with
her. Everything was under her. That’s how much he loved her,” they
claimed.
According to Nwobi, the suspect’s friend for 33 years, they both attended Ikeja High School, but he was a class ahead of Shonde.
“He has never been violent. I have known him for the past 33 years
and I can tell you that he is a gentleman. He was in the same class with
my immediate younger brother who has just returned from the United
States because of this matter.“He attended Ikeja High School. I have been in touch with him since
the ugly incident and he sent me over 70 messages threatening to commit
suicide.“He told me he had quarrelled with his wife on alleged infidelity. He
said his wife confessed she has a man friend in her work place.“Lekan told me that he caught his wife talking to the man on phone
and that she went to Abuja with her lover and they spent five days
together.“As the wife was confessing and begging him, he said he pushed her
aside and went into the room to sleep. That he didn’t talk to her nor
touch her because he was angry.
“Since he usually left the house early (5am) for work every day and
returns around 8pm, he said he left that day as usual and that their
eight-year-old son was the one who bolted the door, while he used his
own key to lock the gate as usual.
“Lekan told me that he never knew anything has happened to his wife
until he was called by his landlady on phone. That his landlady told him
his wife had died and that he was a suspect. He said his landlady’s
daughter also called him.
“He was on his way to the house but different people called and told
him to run because police were in his house and they were looking for
him as the suspect. That was why he fled.“But as soon as he contacted me that same day, I kept telling him to
come out. His aged father also told him to turn himself in and allow the
law to run its course,” he said.
Some of the text messages the suspect sent to Nwobi on May 7 read:
“I
want to die. Please help me, I can’t face the police or cell. They will
kill me.”
Other messages sent to Nwobi, including that of May 9, thanked him for being a true friend.
“Morning Senior Sunday, thanks for everything. I want to go to
Alausa. You are the only one that advised me not to kill myself. I will
respect you till I die,” he said.
Sholuki, Executive Director, Campaign against Impunity and Domestic
Violence, said he came out for Shonde because he believes in him.
He said: “Even as we were coming to the police command, he has spoken
with his mother-in-law to notify her that he has surrendered. The woman
told him that he has done very well for her family and that though they
were pained, they have forgiven him and he should not think of suicide
again.
“He also called his wife’s lover and told him he hoped he was happy
now that he has destroyed his home. The man begged for forgiveness.
“When information came to us about what happened, we told him to come
out for the law to take its course. We have known him for a long time
and he is not a violent person.
“We want justice. We are demanding a medical examination to ascertain
what really happened. He is a family man. He cherishes his wife and
says very pleasant things about her. All we want is justice. If
scientific evidence proves he killed his wife, then, he should go in for
it. But what we do not like is his being condemned even before autopsy
result comes out.
Owoseni said autopsy would ascertain the cause of death, adding that the police were yet to interrogate Shonde.
“As you can see, he has just been brought. It is still an allegation
and the police are not the court of law to pronounce anyone guilty or
otherwise.“He has turned himself in. I confirm he is in our custody. We will
ensure we get to the root of the matter. He shall be interrogated and
investigation is ongoing. We cannot say for sure what happened but
autopsy report will prove the cause of death,” he said.