Barely four months after marriage, a husband, Samuel Mgbeodinma, has allegedly beaten his wife, Gloria, to death in Lagos.
The incident occurred at Ikotun in Alimosho Local Government Area of the state on Saturday night shortly after the Nigeria-Croatia World Cup match.
The woman was said to have hit her head on the floor after being pushed by her husband.
Mgbeodinma allegedly bundled her remains into his car, drove to his parents residence at Egbeda, parked and left without saying anything.His inlaws were said to have come for their daughter’s body at noon on Sunday.
The cause of the couple’s scuffle could not be ascertained at press time last night.
But, according to a Facebook user, Meg Barn, Mgbeodinma did not tell his parents about the incident until about 9am on Sunday.
The Nation learnt that the late Gloria was six weeks pregnant. She graduated last year from the Department of Science and Laboratory Technology of the Federal Polytechnic in Bida, Niger State, and was the Financial Secretary for the Faculty of Social Sciences.
A relative of the late alleged that Mgbeodinma kept her from the rest of her family after their wedding.
She said there were marks on the late Gloria’s face and body, indicating domestic violence.
She said: “We are cousins. Her parents stay in Kwara State and that’s where she was based. She met him (Mgbeodinma) in Lagos when she came for her internship programme sometimes ago. Then, along the line, they lost touched and she searched for him through his surname on Facebook and found him.
“That was how they reconnected. Our family did not know anything about him until December when she came with him during a family meeting and brought invitation card for their traditional marriage and white wedding.
“I know that the elders asked then what he did for a living and he said he was a businessman. So, the wedding came and passed.
“But we found it strange that she was not keeping in touch anymore. We never saw her again after that and each time any one of us called her, she’ll say ‘I will call you back’ but never did.
“Seems her husband isolated her from the family because it was now that this happened that we started hearing so many things.
“For instance, we just learnt that the husband lost his job before their wedding and that it was last month that he got another job. We also learnt that all the while, she has been living with him at his family house and that they just moved into their house at Ikotun last month too.
“Also, my aunt said her dad called her last week that she complained she was sick and her husband did not want to take her to the hospital. So, her dad told my aunt, who’s a nurse, to look for her and take her to the hospital.
“She said she called her to ask for her house address and my cousin sent her a message that she should not bother coming. That she was going to come to her. This was last week Wednesday and then on Saturday the incident happened.”
The source said what happened remained a mystery. But the police, according to her, have said the violent marks on the late Gloria’s face and body showed that she was assaulted.
The source said: “Her husband denied he did not beat her. He said after watching the Nigeria-Croatia match that Saturday, he came back and told her he wanted to go and have a haircut. He said by the time he got back, he saw her on the floor. That she might have fallen.
“If that is true, why then did he, instead of taking her to the hospital, put her inside the car and took the car to his parent’s house at Egbeda? He left her inside the car. She was in the car till about 12pm on Sunday, when our family members went there and took her to the mortuary.
“Our people called the police and the police saw the marks on her body. For now, the man has not been arrested. Police have called for her father to come and make statement. He was supposed to come on Monday from Kwara but could not because his blood pressure had risen. So, they are expecting him to come and file official complaint before the man would be arrested. It is a sad thing. She did not deserve to die like that.”
In her Facebook post, Barn wrote: “Gloria Onyedikachi Odinma (Nee Ngoforo) a beauty from Arondizuogu. How cruel can life be? Like every young beautiful girl dreams of walking down the aisle someday, yours came calling, on February 10. As you got married to your supposedly heartthrob Mgbeodinma Samuel from Awo-Idemili, little did you know that you will take a sudden bow from this space tragically via domestic violence.
“Killed by your husband on Saturday, who after your demise, put your corpse in his car, drove to his parents house in Lagos, did not inform them till Sunday by 9am.
“Must we hit ourselves to pass a message to our partner? Domestic violence is evil…quit now and seek help. Talk to someone. I did not want to post this after a friend sent it to me. I told him I won’t post but looking at your picture lying on the ground, I do not think I will ever forgive myself if I did not post.”
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
