WHEN 50-year-old Yemisi Oseni, a trader at the Ajangbadi area of Lagos State entered into a relationship with 55-year-old Akilaja Julius Adekoya, a lawyer, little did she know that the one year bond would lead to an inhumane treatment that has left her confined to her bed.

According to Ms. Oseni, a widow with four kids: “I started dating Adekoya in November 2014 after a series of advances. In March 2015, he proposed to me and asked me to move into his apartment. I refused at first because he was living with his children from his estranged wife. Later on, I moved in after much pressure but his first daughter was having issues with me being in the house.

“For peace to reign, Adekoya got me a three-bedroom flat at Atimi, Itire, in April 2015. We cohabited like man and wife to the knowledge of his family members, friends and the landlady. Not long after, he no longer ate my food. He soon stopped coming home and became uncomfortable with me. All my efforts to get his attention back proved abortive. One day, I got a text from him asking me to vacate the apartment. I pleaded with him, to no avail. To my surprise, he came to the house and beat me up in a bid to forcefully eject me.

“I reported the assault at the Ajangbadi Police Station, and he was invited to the station. It was agreed that I should remain in the apartment until he gets me a room apartment before we go our separate ways. He promised to provide a room for me on December 4, 2015. When he was not forthcoming, I went to his chambers on December 26 to plead with him to make the money available. On seeing me, he became aggressive and asked me to leave his office.

“It was at this point that he got up from his seat, pulled my hair and hit me to the door. As I tried to hold myself, he dragged me in the neck and pushed me out of his office. I rolled down the stairs and was badly injured when I landed with my waist on a rod. Since then, I can no longer walk. I can’t even afford proper medical attention and have resorted to traditional bone setters, who confirmed I broke my backbone and the bone in between my buttocks,” said.

However in a telephone interview with The Guardian, Adekoya denied beating up Ms. Oseni, saying on the said day, she had walked into his office and destroyed his computers. “I only asked her to return the keys to my three-bedroom apartment. She went ahead to report me to the police station and I have refused to get a room apartment for her. As a result, she has been blackmailing me, saying I owed her money. I have done a lot for her. Since my wife left me, she was the one taking care of my kids, that was why I brought her into my house, but then I decided to end the relationship after I noticed her pretentious behaviour.”