29-year-old Omolara Busari has called off her wedding. According to her, calling the wedding off saved her from a lifetime of misery or, in worse case scenario, death.
Omolara said she called off the wedding after receiving the beating of her life from her fiancé, Adelekan Adelufosi.
Omolara, who hails from Iseyin, Oyo State, told The PUNCH that she endured her relationship with 32-year-old Adelufosi for four years.
They had planned to finally get married in August 2019, but their wedding has now been cancelled after Adelufosi beat his fiancée to a pulp last Thursday at Iwere-Ile, Iwajowa, Oyo State.
Omolara, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, said she had only challenged Adelufosi for asking her not to ever relate with a woman who lives in their area.
By the time she knew what was happening, she had been admitted to hospital.
She said, “There is a woman who lives in my area, close to my apartment. We were just discussing and greeting each other when he (Adelufosi) showed up.
“Later, he went to the woman’s shop and warned her not to ever see her around me again. When we entered my apartment that night, I asked him, ‘Why did you do that?’
“That was the last thing I remembered saying. By the time I opened my eyes, I found myself in a hospital.”
From last Thursday night, Omolara had been receiving treatment and was discharged on Monday.
But that was not the first time Omolara would get physically assaulted by a man who claimed to love her and make his wife someday.
“That was the fifth time he would beat me,” Omolara said.
Asked why she held on to the man despite his abusive nature for so long, Omolara said it was because she had a daughter for him.
She said, “Actually, I wanted to marry him because I have a daughter, who is two years old, for him. This is what kept me glued to the relationship. But this time around, I don’t care. Our relationship has ended and I have cancelled our wedding.
“Right from the beginning, my parents and siblings didn’t approve of our relationship, but I thought maybe after our wedding, he would change.
“We were already planning our wedding for August 2019, but like I said, it cannot hold again.”
Omolara lamented she did not heed her parents’ and siblings’ warning before. However, she was thankful it was not too late for her.
“Now, they (my parents and siblings) are relieved and I have finally learnt my lesson. I am so happy that our relationship has ended,” she said.
Omolara said she was more relieved because she would not have to spend her savings on Adelufosi again, who she claimed to have been responsible for since their relationship started.
She said, “He only has the primary school leaving certificate. I am a trader and deal in beverages. He doesn’t have a job and I have been the one taking care of him.
“I used to buy him clothes, shoes and others. Even the phone he’s using right now, I bought it for him. I was practically taking responsibility for his life.
“Just last week, I gave him N50,000 capital, encouraging him to start selling recharge cards. But after the beating, he burgled my shop and ran away. Up till now, he’s still at large. He was always mad at me for telling him to look for a job.”
Asked what he initially saw in the suspect before agreeing to date him, Omolara said she thought he was a good man because he was “calm and gentle.”
“I never knew he could be this dangerous. I knew his real person when I got closer to him. I also did not know he smokes and drinks alcohol a lot. Anytime I told him what he was doing was not good, he would be angry,” she added.
Asked what she would do if the suspect came back to apologise to her, she replied, “Am I a fool? It can’t happen. I have made up my mind. It was then that I used to fall for his apologies. He can never change.
“He used to threaten me that if I decided to break up with him, he would take our child, and this was why I held on to him for so long. I will raise my daughter, whom I had by Caesarean Section, on my own; I would never let her near him.”
Happy she had finally taken the bull by the horns by ending her relationship with Adelufosi and cancelling her wedding, Omolara said the only thing she now wanted was justice.
“I want him to be punished,” she said.
She also told our correspondent that immediately after her discharge from the hospital on Monday morning, she went to report the case to the Divisional Crime Branch, Iwere-Ile Police Station, Oyo State.
Efforts to reach the Public Relations Officer of the Oyo State Police Command, Mr. Olugbenga Fadeyi, on Tuesday proved abortive.