Mother-of-two allegedly beaten to death by her husband who is now on the run

Ronke Bewaji Shonde was found dead yesterday morning at their home at Tiemo Crescent off Awori street in Egbeda, Lagos, and her husband, Lekan Shonde, is missing. He is believed to have beaten her death during a domestic dispute.

A family friend who reported the case said, Ronke and Lekan had a fight in the early hours of yesterday, while their kids were sleeping. One neighbor later said he heard noise coming from their flat early in the morning but didn’t think it was something serious. Around 7am, the couple’s nanny came to the house to resume work only to find the house locked and no one was opening the door. She tried to call Ronke but her phone was switched off. She peeped through the window only to find the couple’s 6 and 4 year old kids crying and saying they couldn’t wake their mum up. Neighbors gathered and forcefully opened the door to find Ronke’s lifeless body on the floor with blood gushing from her head. Lekan was nowhere to be found. Ronke’s phone was also missing. He’d locked the kids with their dead mum in the house and taken off with her phone. Her body has since been deposited at the mortuary. She was in her mid-30s. According to family friends, Ronke suffered domestic violence in her husband’s hands for many years but refused to leave the marriage.