Ekiti don kicks as robber who stabbed wife escapes from custody
A university lecturer in Ekiti State, Israel Dada, has been left in shock and outrage after a notorious robber, identified as Ayomide, mysteriously escaped from police custody after allegedly stabbing his wife, Mary, multiple times inside their home at the Bode Thomas Housing Estate, Ogbomoso Road, Ofameta, Oyo State.
In an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday, the devastated husband made a heartfelt appeal to Nigerians, particularly the police hierarchy, to ensure justice was served by tracking down and re-arresting the escaped suspect so he could face the full weight of the law.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the suspect, notorious for robbery and theft, was apprehended by community members shortly after he attacked the woman with a sharp knife on February 1, 2025, stabbing her multiple times and leaving her fighting for her life.
Although the suspect was handed over to the police after a successful manhunt by some residents, the distraught husband was shocked and dismayed when officers at the Atiba Police Division informed the family that the suspect had escaped custody.
Dada lamented, “She had several deep cuts and was bleeding profusely. The community caught him and took him to the police station. The police told us they took him to the hospital.
“But to our shock, on Monday morning, they claimed he had escaped from the hospital where he was receiving treatment when an officer was watching him. How does a violent robbery suspect just disappear from police custody? The police have not explained. I suspect they connived with his relatives to set him free.
“The suspect was not even taken to a government hospital. This is injustice. There is a conspiracy to keep this criminal away from prosecution, and I demand justice for my wife.”
Sharing her harrowing experience in a separate interview with our correspondent on Tuesday, Mary recalled, “I got back from Ibadan around 4:30 p.m. and opened our gate when our small dog suddenly began barking uncontrollably. I kept talking to it, unaware that the robber was inside the house, silently watching me the whole time.”
She told PUNCH Metro that her instincts kicked in when the barking didn’t stop, forcing her to begin to check the compound, but before she could react, the suspect appeared with a knife.
“As I raised my head, this boy was already in front of me. He held a knife to my neck and said he would kill me if I made a sound. Before I could think, he started stabbing me. He stabbed my forehead and nose more than 10 times.
“I begged him to tell me what he wanted, but he kept stabbing me. He took my purse with just N4,000 and then, before running away, stabbed me in the eye! I stumbled out of the house, bleeding everywhere until a resident of the estate rushed me to the hospital. I have not been myself since then.”
Efforts to get an official response from the state Police Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso, proved futile as he neither answered calls nor responded to text messages, but a senior officer at the Atiba Police Division confirmed to PUNCH Metro that the suspect broke the handcuffs and escaped while receiving treatment.
“The suspect was badly beaten by the community and was unconscious. He was handcuffed at the hospital, but the officer guarding him left in the morning to change his clothes. Before he returned, the suspect had broken free from the handcuffs and vanished,” the officer disclosed.
The cop added, “We have gone to his father’s house, but the man said he had disowned him. His grandmother also refused to help. We are working tirelessly to re-arrest him and will not rest until he is caught.”
PUNCH Metro reports this is not the first time a suspect has mysteriously vanished from police custody. In 2024, one of the alleged killers of Chinedu Ukwu, a teenager who was fatally stabbed on April 3 in Arochukwu, Abia State, also reportedly escaped from detention.
Despite the family’s relentless calls for justice, the suspect remains at large, with no concrete explanation from the state police division.
