A man identified as Olamide has allegedly killed his one-year-old son during a fight with his wife in the Elega area of Abeokuta, Ogun State.
It was gathered that the couple were engaged in a heated argument on Saturday night when Olamide mistakenly struck his son with an iron rod intended for his wife, leading to the child’s death.
In a viral video circulating on Facebook, agitated residents recounted the harrowing moment they were drawn to the scene by cries for help from the couple’s apartment.
A co-tenant, Mrs. Bolatito, who spoke to journalists, said she was alerted by the distraught wife, who shouted that her husband had killed their son. “At about midnight, I heard the lady calling out to me for help, saying that Olamide had killed Ayinde. She said they had gone to Tyre and asked me to help get a vehicle,” Bolatito recounted.
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Bolatito and other neighbours rushed the child to Trinity Hospital, the closest medical facility in the area, where they were initially informed that the boy had died.
However, upon returning home, they noticed the child was still showing signs of life and took him back to the hospital—only to be told a second time that he had finally died.
“What I learned was that the husband took an iron rod and tried to hit his wife, but it ended up landing on the child’s head. Sadly, this isn’t the first time. The wife reportedly lost a previous pregnancy due to his constant beatings,” Bolatito added.
The chairman of the community, Mr. Ramoni Adegbola, also confirmed the incident. He said that upon hearing commotion from the couple’s residence, he rushed over just to find the child already injured.
“The couple engaged in a fight frequently, and I feel it’s because the husband often takes illicit drugs. There was a day he took something that made him faint, and I had to call on neighbors to assist in taking care of him.
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“I heard the noise of help, help, they have started fighting, and I ran to the scene. On getting there, I saw them with the child, and I was informed that the child had been hit with an iron rod on the head. “I called out to other residents to assist in taking the child to the hospital, and when they returned from the hospital, I was informed that the child was dead,” Adegbola said.
Following the incident, Olamide reportedly fled the scene but later turned himself in at a police station.
The spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident, adding that an investigation was ongoing.
“It happened, and the police are investigating,” Odutola said.