A 27-year-old woman identified only as Esther, has spoken out on the abuse she suffered in the hands of her baby’s father.
Esther was propelled to speak following the recent story of Ronke Shonde, who was allegedly killed by her husband, Lekan Shonde in their Egbeda home in Lagos State.
Speaking to Channels TV on Tuesday, May 10, 2016 Esther narrated how she stayed in her marriage marred by abuse for seven years because she had nowhere else to go.
Esther finally left the union and currently stays with her children and mother in the ijora area of the state.
Narrating her ordeal, Esther said she got pregnant for the man in question at the age of 18 following her father’s death and her mother’s marriage to her step father who was overly hostile.
According to her, her baby’s father abused her and had sex with her a few days after child birth despite the pains she felt.
She said: “My problems began after my mother remarried 10 years after my father died. My step father does not want to see me. He hates me and my kid brother with a passion. He keenly shows me hatred to the extent that whenever he is at home, I can’t go into the house, I hang around, and I will not even be able to sleep in the house.
“Owing to this treatment from my stepfather, I had to leave his house since the condition there was unbearable and I got into a relationship with a man and my life became a living hell.
“I have no access to anything in the house; when he wants to go out, he will disconnect the wires and lock up the refrigerator. He denies my basic needs by locking up vital items in the house while he went to work.
“When he is at home, I can’t come out to his presence, I can’t sit on the bed or chair unless he asks me to. He would always say I didn’t come to his house with chair so I can’t sit on it.
“I became pregnant for him at 18 and safely put to birth. My baby was 9 days old when my husband started sleeping with me. I will complain of pains and he would not care. He will shout at me, tie up my hands and legs to have sex with me daily.
“I endured all these because I had nowhere to go. I was there until I had 2 children for him despite the torture.
“After 2 more children and 3 abortions, I knew I had to move on with my life, else I will die in that house. I left the relationship after 7 years.”
She further urged women facing abuses in marriages and relationships to speak out and stop bottling up the abuse and want out.
