Lanre Gentry Remanded in Kirikiri Prison for beating up his wife Mercy Aigbe

         

Nollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe's husband Lanre Gentry has been remanded in Kirikiri Prison for alleged wife battering, in the latest twist of the domestic violence drama.

He was arraigned at an Ikeja Magistrate Court on a three-count charge of domestic violence, assault, and threat to life which he pleaded not guilty to.

He was granted bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in the like sum. The sureties must show proof of tax payment and own houses in Lagos with title documents. He will be released from the prison after he has met bail demands. 

Inspector N. Peter, police prosecutor,told the court that Gentry on April 17, conducted himself in a manner likely to cause breach of peace by constituting nuisance and behaving in a disorderly manner in a public place. Peter added that Gentry unlawfully assaulted his wife by beating her with physical blows all over her body and also caused Mercy Aigbe’s grievous bodily harm after giving her a blow on the nose, with blood gushing out.

Inspector Peter said the offense committed by Gentry was contrary to and punishable under sections  157 (f), 168 (a) and 171 of the Criminal Law No II, Vol. 44 Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.

According to premium times, Gentry was initially asked to appear in court on Monday following a physical assault charge leveled against him by the Lagos State Department of Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team. He, however, failed to show up in court saying he was admitted in a Lagos hospital for an undisclosed ailment.

His estranged wife then took to her Instagram account on Monday morning to raise an alarm that her husband was trying to evade arrest with the help of the police. Her close friend, her friend Lara Olubo claimed to have witnessed it.

The couple was married for seven years and the union produced a son. While it is Mercy’s second marriage, it is her husband’s third marriage.

The case has been adjourned till 12 May for trial.