Men Against Rape Foundation (MARF) and Make A Difference Initiative (MARF) have accused the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) of Lagos State of negligence and complicity in the circumstances surrounding the death of a 35 year old, Mrs Bimbo Ogbonna.
She was alleged to have bought kerosene and set herself ablaze in the heat of hostilities between her and her husband, Mr. Ikechukwu Ogbonna on the 13th of October, 2022 in her apartment in Lagos.
At a press conference in Abuja,the Executive Director of the Foundation , Lemmy Ughegbe and Director of Investigation, Make A Difference Initiative, Comrade Jacob Edi said the agency failed to act in a proactive manner in Bimbo’s case.
According to Ughegbe ” Based on our background in investigative journalism, we have taken time out to investigate the circumstances that led to Bimbo death,adding that her demise was avoidable.
He added:“It is on record that Bimbo cried out, filed a formal complaint to Lagos DSVA about serial abuses by her husband, Mr. Ikechukwu Ogbonna. We also have recorded conversation between Bimbo and a DSVA official, wherein Bimbo was distressed and called the agency for urgent action. Unfortunately, the evidence we have is that the DSVA treated it with complacency and the usual bureaucracy of public service.
“For an agency set-up to deal expeditiously with issues of Domestic and Sexual Violence expeditiously, the complacency with which Bimbo’s distress call was treated amounts to negligence and complicity in situations that led to her death”.
He said it was even more ironic that an agency whose facebook page carries the message ¬“every domestic violence case is a potential murder case” will not act on a distress call from someone who has even taken the extra step to lodge two complaints already.
Speaking,Comrade Jacob Edi, who decried the rising tide of Domestic and Sexual Violence called on the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution to call the DSVA for the files with documentary evidence of physical abuses of the deceased by her husband.
“We have seen a video recording by Mr. Ogbonna while his wife was locked inside the house with fire. How can a man whose wife is on fire be so calm to record the incident instead of calling for help? Comrade Edi queried “.
Edi said that singular act, with the substantial evidence of his abuses of Bimbo, shows clearly that he knows more than he is saying about the fire incident that killed his wife.