Slain banker: Alleged husband opens defence, blames wife’s family for problems

HUSBAND to  Titilayo Arowolo, the slain Skye bank staff,  Akolade Arowolo, who was accused of allegedly stabbing his 29-year-old wife to death on June 24, 2011, at their home in Isolo area of Lagos, on Thursday, gave testimony in his  defence, stating that he never beat his wife throughout their marriage.
At the resumed hearing of the matter before Justice Lateefa Okunnu, Akolade, while being lead in Evidence-in-Chief  by his counsel,  Mr Olanrewaju Ajanaku, stated that they got married on August 8, 2008 and were blessed with a child.
According to him, some of the reasons they were having problems in their marriage was ego and immaturity and not because of violence, adding that they were having problems in their marriage, one day and he decided to sleep in a friend’s place.
Akolade told the court that he was surprised that his wife did not call him all through the night, adding that he returned home the next day, as he was missing her and the baby.
He explained that when he got home, he decided to check her phone if she had made any call the previous night.
“ I discovered that she called three people the previous night — her father, ex-boyfriend, Ehime and one other person I did not know. I did not know how to confront her, as I was thinking of how I was to present it to her. I decided  to ask her when we were eating. So, when we started eating, I asked her that ‘was it not  funny that I did not come home last night and you did not call me?’
“She said she did not have credit and I said but you had credit to call daddy, your ex-boyfriend and one other person. There and then, my wife got very angry and said I should never touch her phone again, that she had the right to call anybody she wished and right in my presence, she called her ex.”
According to him, “for the first time ever in our marriage, I slapped her and she ran out of the house and left our baby behind,” adding that he never for once  beat her before and after that first incident in June 2011.
“My style was, whenever she came home with any funny character, I would leave the house.”
Akolade also blamed his wife’s family for interfering in their marriage. He said his wife told him that she did not know why she kept obeying her stepmother, as she felt she was hypnotised by her to do things that she would not have done ordinarily.
According to him, the first argument he had with his wife after marriage was the request of the N500,000 she demanded for baby things when she was pregnant. “I told her I have spent so much on our wedding and  pleaded with her to take N100,000, but she insisted that if I didn’t give her the said amount, she would leave the house, which she did.”
The case was adjourned till May 22  for further hearing.
Tribune