Court bans husband of Nollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe, from coming close to the actress

By Monsuru Olowoopejo

LAGOS—A magistrate court sitting at Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos, has barred Lanre Gentry, the husband of Nollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe, from coming close to the actress and the two children in her custody. In a certified copy of the judgement obtained by Vanguard, the court also restrained Lanre from committing any further acts of domestic violence against the 38-year-old actress, (Mercy) with immediate effect.

The couple The judgement, delivered by Mrs. Davies Abegunde, was sequel to the actress’ report of domestic violence and threat to life by her husband to Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team, DSVRT. Before the judgement, a social worker, Adeola Falade, told the court that Mercy alerted the Government of the act on April 25, alleging that the respondent (Lanre), a resident of 14 Oregun Street, Epe Close, Ikeja, came to her tailor’s place, attacked and beat her.

Falade argued that the act amounts to domestic violence, urging the court to consider Section 1, Subsection 3 and Section 7, Subsection 1 of the Lagos State Domestic Violence Law 2007 to provide protection for the actress. In her judgement, after considering the application filed on behalf of the actress by DSVRT on April 28, Abegunde ordered that Lanre must not be found anywhere within one mile radius of where Mercy and the two children in her custody are.

The magistrate further ordered that Lanre appear before the court on May 17, to show why the restraining order should not be made permanent against him by the court. Reacting over the judgement, the Coordinator of the DSVRT, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, warned that the State Government’s zero tolerance of domestic violence was still effective, urging that survivors take advantage of Lagos State Family Courts for protection whenever the need arises.