Court strikes out case against wife accused of beating husband

An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on Tuesday struck out a case of alleged husband battery preferred against a 38-year-old trader, Fausat Salaudeen.

At the resumed hearing, the prosecutor, Insp George Nwosu, informed the court of the complainant’s decision to withdraw the charge against the accused.

The magistrate, Mr A. A. Adesanya, who ruled on the application for the withdrawal, struck out the case.

“This follows the application filed by the complainant notifying the court of his intention to withdraw the charge,” Adesanya said.

The accused, a resident of Agege area of Lagos, was being tried for breach of peace and assault.

Nwosu had told the court that the accused committed the offences on Sept. 4 at her residence.

He said that the accused assaulted her husband, one Mustapha Salaudeen, by beating and tearing his clothes into pieces.

Nwosu said that the accused had been assaulting the complainant from the inception of their marriage, adding that she was always in the police station over such issues.

” The accused always fight the complainant on any trivial issue. Anytime they had disagreement, the accused is always the first to hit him.

“The complainant had on many occasions requested her arrest by the police for assaulting him.

“But when the police were tired of the case, they transferred it to welfare but the accused still refused to change,” he said.

The prosecutor said that on the fateful day, the complainant ordered the accused not to cook inside the room but she disobeyed his order.

“The complainant told the accused not to cook inside the room but she ignored him and started cooking.

“As the complainant carried the stove to take it to the kitchen, the accused dragged him back and descended on him by beating him and tearing his clothes,” he said.

The accused, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, was granted N20,000 bail with one surety in like sum.

The offences, Nwosu said, contravened Sections 166 and 170 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

Section 170 stipulates one year imprisonment.