A heated argument between a couple in the Elega area of Abeokuta on Saturday night turned tragic when the husband, identified as Olamide, mistakenly struck his one-year-old son with an iron rod intended for his wife, leading to the child?s death.

It was learnt in a video from the scene of the incident obtained on Monday that Olamide had fled the area after the incident.

Residents of the community had narrated in the video that they were alerted to the incident after they heard noise from the couple?s apartment.

A co-tenant who identified as Mrs. Bolatito, narrated that she was alerted by the wife that her husband had killed her son and when she got to the scene, she learnt that the couple had engaged in a fight.

Bolatito narrated that the husband had reportedly picked an iron rod attached to the weight he often lifted and attempted to smash it on his wife but the rod hit the son on the head.

She said, ?At about midnight (on Saturday), I heard the lady calling out to me that I should come to her aid and that Ola (her husband) had killed Ayinde (her son). I was surprised, and I asked what happened. She said they had gone to Tyre and I should help them get a vehicle.

?I went outside and I couldn?t see anybody, so while I was returning home, I saw some people with a vehicle, so I said that we should take the child to Trinity because it is the nearby hospital in the area. When we got to Trinity, we were informed that the child was dead.

?Upon returning home, we realised that the child was making sounds, so we decided to take him to the hospital again, where we were told that he had died the second time.

?What I learnt was that the husband took an iron rod from a weight he often carried and attempted to smash it on the wife, but instead hit the baby on the head. He has always beaten his wife, as the previous pregnancy the wife was carrying was lost due to the beating from the husband.?

The chairman of the community, Ramoni Adegbola, narrated that he was alerted by neighbours about a fighting incident between the duo and upon getting there, he saw them with the child who was feeling restless.

He added that when the child was taken to the hospital, he was returned home dead, adding that the husband had been in the habit of taking illicit drugs.

?I heard the noise of help, help, they have started fighting, and I ran to the scene. On getting there, I saw them with the child, and I was informed that the child had been hit with an iron rod on the head. I called out to other residents to assist in taking the child to the hospital, and when they returned from the hospital, I was informed that the child was dead.

The couple engaged in a fight frequently, and I feel it?s because the husband often takes illicit drugs. There was a day he took something that he fainted, and I had to call on neighbours to assist in taking care of him.

?He has absconded since yesterday, but I was informed not too long ago that he reported to a police station,? Adegbola said.

When contacted on Monday for a reaction, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident to our correspondent.

The Chief Superintendent of Police disclosed that an investigation was ongoing into the incident.

?It happened, and the police are investigating,? Odutola said in a terse response. (The PUNCH)

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