Wife of Uyo State Barrister Says She Does Not Want Her Husband Persecuted
In a letter dated 20 December 2023, wife of state counsel Barrister Ekere Ebong, who was previously assaulted by him, declared that she was did not want her husband to be prosecuted.
Document Women previously reported that on 14 December 2023, at night, in front of their residence in Uyo, attorney Ekere Ebong was captured on camera assaulting his wife, Ekemini. This incident sparked outrage among Nigerians on social media, who demanded his arrest.
The Uyo Branch Chairperson of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Augustine Umoh, announced that Mr. Ebong had been granted bail after being arraigned.
However, after the 17-year practicing lawyer confessed to assaulting his wife, Umoh announced that a disciplinary committee would be established against him.
State attorneys believe he can still be prosecuted, given that the wife is merely a witness and the offence was committed against the state.
James Ibor, chief counsel at Basic Rights Counsel Initiative, states that the wife can be compelled to testify as a witness in order to validate what occurred to her under certain articles of the Criminal Code and Administration of Criminal Justice System Laws of Akwa Ibom State.
Ibor said the assaulted wife is not a complainant but only a witness and her opinion does not count in the prosecution
“And in any case, her invitation may be dispensed with because she’s the wife and the prosecutor may decide not to invite her." He told Premium Times.
“I’m happy the NBA is involved. NBA is going to deploy every legal mechanism at its disposal to make sure she gets justice whether she likes it or not because it is not justice for her alone; it is justice for the people of Akwa Ibom State, the legal profession, human race and for he her husband, who also has sisters and mother,” Mr Ibor said.
Ibor speculated that she might be acting under social pressure rather than love.
“I know the maternal, paternal families, friends who promote patriarchy and violence against women may be saying to her, ‘Your children will hate you for sending their father to jail. Who will feed them?’”