WTF:A Woman Bathed With Acid At Her Home.

For about five months, the Agbaje family of
Ifako, Gbagada, Lagos State, has been
battling to find an explanation to the
tragedy that has befallen it.

The family members said while they were
seeking a solution to the tragedy, they had
sought the aid of the Ogun State Police
Command to unravel the circumstances
surrounding their challenge.

The mother of the house, Mrs. Sherrifat
Agbaje was attacked with acid while she
was sleeping on her bed on April 23, 2013.

Sherifat, a fish seller, said she was in a
rented apartment in the Ifo area of Ogun
State and was fast asleep when an
unknown assailant crept up to her window
in the middle of the night and bathed her
with acid.

The mother of six is currently in pains as
her face, chest and arms were severely
burned in the attack. She, however,
miraculously escaped being blinded.

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Her five-year-old daughter, Kehinde, who
was sleeping beside her, was also lucky as
she escaped with a few burns to her back
and arms.

Sherifat told PUNCH Metro that it had
been her practice for three years to travel
to Ifo. Ogun State, every Monday to sell fish
and return home to her husband at Ifako,
Lagos, on Saturdays.

Sherifat said, “There was nothing unusual
about that day. Like any typical day, I went
to the market to sell fish. I didn’t sell much
because there was a free-for-all among the
area boys. It disrupted our business.

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“My eldest daughter, Omowunmi, was,
however, able to make more sales by
hawking the fish around the market area.
Three of my children were with me then.”

At the end of the day, Sherifat went back to
her apartment in Ifo and watched the TV
with her children until 12am.
She said Kehinde and her twin, Taiwo, had
persuaded her to let them sleep in her bed,
but she insisted that they must sleep on
the floor.

It was learnt that the room had six
windows, which were made with wood. All
the windows were closed on that night
except one. It faced Sherifat’s bed.
She said, “I had slept for about 30 minutes
when I felt something hot on my body.
Initially, I thought it was fire and I started
screaming.

“My screams woke up Omowunmi. She took
one look at my body and started shouting
that somebody had poured something on
me. That was when it dawned on me that
my house was not on fire.

“In the process of trying to shake off
whatever had been poured on me, some
drops of the acid poured on Kehinde, who
had come back to sleep beside me.”

Sherifat’s neighours came out to find out
what the problem was. They also searched
the neighbourhood, but no one was caught
in connection with the incident
In the morning, the case was reported at
the Ifo Police Station. Till date, the mystery
had yet to be unraveled by the police.

Her husband, Tunde, told PUNCH Metro
that he was alerted to the incident the
same day at 3am.
He said, “It was Omowunmi who called me.

At dawn, I set out for Ifo and met my wife
at a catholic hospital where she had been
taken to. The hospital said the burns were
serious and transferred her to the General
Hospital, Sango.

“It has been tough for us ever since. I dig
boreholes for a living and without my
wife’s support, taking care of our six
children has been difficult. I do not know
what would have made someone attack my
wife with acid. To the best of my
knowledge, she has no problem with
anyone to warrant any attack.
“Now, my children’s education is on hold.

They can no longer attend school. All our
finances are geared towards restoring my
wife to normalcy.”

He said some doctors at the general
hospital had advised that Sherifat would
require some surgery in India to repair the
damage to her body. He added, “But I
don’t have money.”

The Ogun State Police Relations Officer,
DSP Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the
incident to our correspondent on the
telephone.

He said a suspect had been identified and
was wanted in connection with the attack.

He however did not give the identity of the
suspect.

He said, “The case is under investigation
and efforts are being made to apprehend
him. The Commissioner of Police,
Ikemefuna Okoye, has directed that the
suspect should be declared wanted if he
fails to turn up.”