Assault: Woman petitions Enugu attorney general over release of ex- husband from custody
FOUR months after Patience Amaka Edeh lost her fivemonth- old pregnancy, following assault by her exhusband, she has petitioned the Enugu State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice over release of the former spouse from a correctional centre.
She alleged that the Directorate of Public Prosecution ( DPP) compromised the case.
The young woman, in the petition dated January 13, 2024, a copy of which was obtained by The Guardian yesterday, lamented that the DPP connived with the exhusband to release him from custody without her knowledge or payment of reparation.
According to her, this was done without considering the human and material losses she suffered from the assault. Edeh narrated that she was beaten to a pulp by the exhusband, leading to her spending over three weeks in a hospital and loss of the pregnancy.
She alleged that after her exhusband was arrested, arraigned and remanded in correctional custody, with the case file transferred to the DPP, all efforts to follow up on the matter was blocked by the agency.
“The above matter was a case of assault against me by my ex- husband. He had, on September 29, 2023, beat me to a pulp. The beating resulted in serious bleeding and loss of my five- month- old pregnancy.
“He was subsequently arrested by the police, arraigned on October 10, 2023 on a two- count charge of battery and willful damages, and remanded in correctional custody, pending advice from the DPP,” the petition reads.
Edeh said after the arraignment and subsequent remand, the last time she heard of the matter was about a month later.
According to her, she visited the office of the DPP at the Ministry of Justice to ascertain the status of the pending matter, but was asked to “pay N6,500” to enable them file a case “as soon as possible”.
She added: “I had left the office in protest; that getting the DPP’S advice in a matter as grievous as losing a fivemonth pregnancy should not be determined by payment of money.
“Besides, I did not have such an amount to pay. I, therefore, went home awaiting the DPP’S invitation on the next line of action.
“On December 22, 2023, however, I discovered to my greatest chagrin and shock that the culprit, who should be in custody, had been freed.
“Sir, I am still wondering when the court sat to free him, and under what conditions. I was never invited by the DPP for any kind of settlement till date.
“I spent more than three weeks on admission at the Parklane General Hospital where doctors battled to save my life after the incident, with bills paid.
“My properties, including a generator and a Samsung television set that my exhusband removed from my house while I was on admission at the hospital have not been restored to me.”
When contacted, Director, Public Prosecution, Ngozi Okoye, said the matter was “properly charged, and bail granted by the court”.
She denied knowledge of demand for payment for the case to be filed in court, and urged the petitioner to come forward with the identity of the officials that made such demand.