VICTOR AYENI writes about how financial problems, limited social support, and accusations of infidelity often trigger domestic violence among Nigerian migrant couples

In a tragic and horrifying incident of domestic violence, a United Kingdom-based man, Olubunmi Abodunde, brutally beat his wife, Taiwo, to death with their son’s skateboard.

Taiwo, 41, was said to have suffered “catastrophic injuries” during the attack that took place at the couple’s Newmarket, Suffolk home on November 28, 2023.

According to a report by Daily Mail, the couple who had three children migrated to the UK from Nigeria in 2022.

Mrs Abodunde worked as a health care assistant in Cambridge but her husband, who had trained as a civil engineer, was unable to find work in his profession and took shifts at Tesco and Wickes.

Before taking his wife’s life, the 48-year-old had been investigated by police several times over alleged domestic violence incidents before his wife’s death.

These details emerged last month, at the Ipswich Crown Court where Olubumi pleaded guilty to murder after initially denying the charge, a report by East Anglian Daily Times noted.

During the trial, the prosecutor, Stephen Spence, said throughout their marriage the defendant had been a jealous man and accused his wife of having affairs.

On several occasions, police were called to the couple’s home over clashes over the alleged affairs and arguments about bills. However this violence “was not of the most significant kind,” Spence noted.

On November 27, the day before the tragic killing, police responded to another call at the couple’s home. During this visit, they discovered Taiwo, the victim, with an injured lip, as a result of the altercation.

Olubunmi was arrested and taken to Bury St Edmunds police station, though he was later released and given bail conditions ordering him not to return to the family home on Exning Road or contact his wife.

Unfortunately, the bail conditions banning him from the property failed to stop the violent episode that played out in the couple’s home.

Brutally beaten to death

On the evening of November 27, Taiwo went to work in Cambridge and returned home the next morning.

The court heard that after working a night shift at Tesco, Olubunmi went to the family home allegedly to pick up a mobile phone he had left behind.

When the police turned up at 9:20 am to take a statement from Taiwo concerning the incident the night before, the officers heard repeated banging noises coming from inside the house Olubunmi entered, the court heard.

The prosecutor suggested that the defendant continued to attack his wife when she was unconscious, if not dead.

At 9:55 am when the police forced their way in after getting approval from senior officers, they found Mrs Abodunde “obviously dead” near the front door with her “skull smashed in” and blood and brain material visible, the court heard.

“The pathologist said there were injuries to her neck and the prosecution suggested she was strangled unconscious, then stamped on until her ribs were broken, and then beaten in the head using a skateboard so hard the skateboard itself also sustained damage,” the EADT reported.

After his arrest for the murder, Olubunmi was taken to hospital “because he appeared to have some sort of mental episode,” Spence stated.

The defendant later claimed in a police statement that he had acted in self-defence, saying, “My wife has subjected me to physical abuse for a number of years.

“On November 28, we got into an argument. She ran at me with a knife, I grabbed the knife and cut my hand. I was defending myself.”

But the court heard while Olubunmi did have a cut on his hand, the police found no knife in the vicinity of his wife’s body.

Nneka Akudolu, defending, said her client believed his behaviour might have been affected by the medication he was taking at the time but said no medical evidence would be provided to support this claim.

“Plainly, this level of violence was completely out of character for him,” Akudolu added.

However, Judge Martyn Levett, sitting at Ipswich Crown Court, warned Olubunmi that the only possible sentence was life imprisonment.

Abodunde was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on May 9.

Suffolk Constabulary has referred itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct, which confirmed three officers were under investigation.

An IOPC spokesman told Daily Mail, “We advised two Suffolk officers that they are under investigation for potential breaches of the police standards of professional behaviour at the level of gross misconduct.

“We advised another officer that they are under investigation at the level of misconduct.”

A detective of Suffolk Police, Inspector Dan Connick, said after the hearing, “This was an awful attack on a woman that has had a lasting impact on the community and, most importantly, on the victim’s family.

“We are pleased that Taiwo’s family will no longer have to go through the pain of a trial. Our thoughts remain with Taiwo’s family and friends and hope this result will bring some small comfort to them.”

A pattern of domestic violence

Similar to the crime committed by Olubunmi, in August last year, a Nigerian man in the United States, Hassan Adeyemo, shot and killed his wife in East Orange County, Florida, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

In a statement, the police said deputies responded to Taxiway Circle, a residential area near the Conway neighbourhood, at about 7:20 pm on August 27, 2023.

They arrived to find 43-year-old Nanchin Adeyemo, who had been shot. She was taken to an area hospital where she died. Detectives identified Adeyemo’s husband, 46-year-old Hassan, as a suspect in the killing.

After he was jailed on a first-degree murder charge, details emerged that there had been growing resentment between Hassan, who worked as an Uber driver and delivery man, and Nanchin who operated a hair braiding business in the city and was the breadwinner of the home.

In 2022, another Nigerian man in the UK, Conrad Iyayi, was jailed for life with a minimum of 18 years for murdering his wife, Kathryn, in their kitchen while their son slept upstairs.

According to a report by The News, the 46-year-old was reported to have stabbed his wife seven times in the chest at their home in Oak Crescent, Littleover, Derby, in February 2022.

Kathyrn, a 52-year-old art teacher, and mother-of-three was violently murdered by Conrad whom prosecutors said had taken methadone and drunk alcohol before committing the crime.

In June 2022, another Nigerian man in Texas, US, Obinna Igbokwe, took his own life after shooting his wife, Tangela, and her grandmother.

NBC reported that Igbokwe left home with his three-month-old son, after shooting both women in their heads on Wednesday.

Though the wife was critically injured and hospitalised, her grandmother died from the injury.

While on the run, Igbokwe dropped their child in a car seat at a local hotel. When the police were alerted of his presence in the area, the suspect shot himself and died from the injury.

Commenting on this pattern of domestic violence among migrant communities, a Nigerian nurse, Ibiyemi Aworinde, who resides in Manchester, UK told Sunday PUNCH that the changes in the social climate and financial problems frequently caused friction among migrant Nigerian couples.

She said, “The UK is not Nigeria and there are lots of things that men can do in Nigeria and get away with there but may not get away with here (in the UK), because this is an enlightened society. It also takes much time for migrant couples to stabilise financially, especially where only one of the spouses works.

“If the husband is dependent or here to study, or the wife has a better-paying job while he has a menial job, there will be problems in that household because it damages the ego of the man and he could accuse his wife of cheating on him or resort to emotional abuse and if that continues, physical violence could start.”

The nurse, who said she had “seen this happen a lot,” said many of such women suffered in silence and refused to press charges because they could not handle the implications that came with it.

“It takes patience and understanding. No one is immune to these issues because this is a different social climate and people can change. The pressure of work can change the marriage dynamic,” Aworinde added.

Also speaking with Sunday PUNCH, a Nigerian who relocated to the UK last year but preferred to be called Nathaniel, stated, “When we moved here (to the UK), the first five months was not easy. My wife was pregnant, I couldn’t work because I came in with a student visa. Things were tough but I had to keep our issues off social media and keep a low profile.

“Here, you have to work, whether you are the man of the house or not and bills can cause issues. This place takes its toll on marriage but with good counsellors and those who are married and here for years, one can get needed support.”

In a report presented by VAWnet, an online resource library on gender-based violence, particularly among immigrant communities, lack of financial resources has been adduced to be one of the causes of domestic abuse.

“Immigrant women are particularly vulnerable to domestic violence and may feel trapped in abusive relationships because of immigration laws, language barriers, social isolation, and lack of financial resources.

“Research on rates of domestic violence in immigrant communities is far from conclusive. The limited data that is available for a few immigrant groups cannot be combined due to essential differences among subgroups,” the report stated.

A UK women-advocacy group, End Violence Against Women, in an online report, stated that migrant women were disproportionately at risk from gendered violence including domestic violence, sexual violence, ‘honour-based’ violence, forced marriage, female genital mutilation, and trafficking.

“Ethnic minority and migrant women in England experience higher rates of domestic homicide and need specialist support. But, services for these women are being cut,” it added.

A UK organisation, Electronic Immigration Network, also highlighted economic disparity as one of the causes of domestic disputes in the country.

According to the 2020 Femicide Census, 38 per cent of women killed by their ex-partner from 2009 to 2018 were killed within the first month of separation and 89 per cent in the first year.

However, a relationship coach, Pastor Roy Matthew, advised couples to seek professional counselling and effectively communicate before and after relocating.

He added, “Spouses need to build their homes on love and emotional maturity. If there is domestic abuse, report it to the authorities and if possible, change your physical location. Sometimes, the system fails, but once you start getting threats from your spouse, they should not be taken with levity.”