Nigerians are outraged that the Governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom, had reconciled a woman with her husband whom she had accused of physically abusing her. They say the woman, Ifeayinwa Angbo, was reconciled with her partner under duress.

The BBC reports that Angbo had posted a video on social media, showing her with a bloodied face, saying that her husband, had assaulted her. In the video, which went viral, Angbo alleged that her marriage of six years marriage had been filled with repeated beatings. She added the latest incident of assault by her husband took place just a month after she had given birth to their fourth child. The video resulted in a public outcry.

According to the BBC, Angbo’s husband is a reporter for one of Nigeria’s most popular television channels. The television station said it did not condone domestic violence and vowed to investigate the matter. However, just hours after the station’s statement, Governor Ortom reconciled the couple, and made Angbo address journalists. Angbo made an appearance with a bruised face, and publicly declared that she forgave her husband. She asked others to forgive him too. Angbo’s husband, meanwhile, said that he had apologized to his wife. He also promised to change, saying, “Under no circumstances should I have hit my wife. I’m very apologetic for the action and the hurt I brought upon her.”

Governor Ortom, said, “Some of us are not also innocent. As a young couple, we underwent some of these challenges in our marriage life.’’ He has largely been condemned as being counter-productive in the campaign against domestic violence.

Activists say the governor’s action set a very bad precedent which could incite further violence against women. They fear that other perpetrators would also use reconciliation to continue their crimes, saying, ‘’What he (Ortem) did is unlawful and an abuse of authority. Assault and battery are crimes in Nigeria, so the law should take its course.”

Umm Muhammed Umar