Lekan Shonde Who Went Viral After Allegedly Murdering His Beautiful Wife, Ronke Shows Up In Court

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Most of us remember this story vividly well. It was one story that went viral and broke the internet when it occured in 2016.

Lekan Shonde, a 53-year-old dockworker, who is standing trial before a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, for the alleged murder of his wife, Ronke Shonde on May 6, 2016; claimed he only slapped her.

Recall that the then 51-year old dad-of-2 allegedly beat his wife to death at their home in the Egbeda-Idimu area of Lagos State, and was said to have surrendered to the authorities 5 days later after an extensive manhunt. (Read Here)

At the Wednesday proceeding, while being led in evidence by his counsel, Robert Clarke (SAN), Shonde told the court that he was provoked when he overheard his wife talking to her lover.

Shonde narrated:

“On May 5, 2016; I heard my wife speaking to someone on the telephone, saying, ‘Kayode, you’re sweet; what did you use in sleeping with me? I was furious, so I slapped her from behind; she fell as a result of the slap. She later stood up, held me and said she was sorry. She went into the room to have her bath. She had earlier asked me to buy moin-moin and pap. So, when she came out of the bathroom, she asked me about the moin-moin and I told her that I would take my own moin-moin with garri, while she had her own with pap. Thereafter, I went to bed. But she said she was going downstairs to play a bit. When I woke up at midnight, I met her on the couch and I asked why she was still there. She said she would join me later and I went back to the room. On that day, when I was going out, I saw her on the couch with her phone beside her; I just dropped her transport money like I normally do, locked the door with my own key and left for work. Around 4pm, my cousin came to my place of work and he told me that my father asked him to inform me of my wife’s death. I left immediately, but the gridlock on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway did not allow me to get to Oshodi until past 9pm. I went to my father’s place in Ladipo with my cousin.”

Lekan, during a cross-examination by the state prosecutor, Y.G. Oshoala, denied going away with the deceased’s phone on the day of the incident, adding that when he overheard his wife talking on the phone with the alleged lover was the first time he knew she was having an extra-marital affair.

Oshoala said:

“This is not the first time you knew your wife was going out with Kayode, you put it in your statement that Kayode had been to your house. If you truly loved your wife, you would have left immediately for your home when you heard of her passing but you did not appear until days later. Would you be surprised that the autopsy reveals brain injuries, hemorrhage, damage to the neck and so many injuries? I put it to you that your normal habit was to lock the door, beat your wife and hit her head on the wall, I also put it to you that she was going to divorce you. There must be a lot of force for a grown adult to fall down from a mere slap as you claimed, is that how you treat the woman you love? You didn’t go to the police on the 2nd day after the incident as claimed, you went after the 6th day.”

Responding, Shonde denied that his wife was seeking a divorce and that he did not physically abuse her. He told the court that he ran away for 3 days before turning himself in because his 88-year old father had asked him to stay away for fear that people may attack him.

The prosecutor, however, read out his statement to the police, where he said he caught one Kayode in his sitting room sometime in March 2016, adding that on the day of the incidence, he used the opportunity to take his wife’s phone to go through her text and Whatsapp messages.

He said:

“I am surprised that the autopsy result showed evidence of assault, damages and trauma on her body because I only slapped her and I admitted that the slap might have made her face swollen, but I did not kill my wife. I have no reason to kill her because we resolved our differences that night. Before God and man, Adunni had no plans to divorce me, I do not habitually beat her, I was furious when I heard her speaking to Kayode and I slapped her.”

Earlier during proceedings, Shola Adamolekun, the nanny to the Shonde family and 6th prosecution witness, told the court how she discovered the lifeless body of her madam in the house when she resumed to work in the morning.

While being led in evidence by Oshoala, Adamolekun said:

“I resumed work in the morning at 6am, the gate to the house was usually left open for me by the defendant when he leaves for work early in the morning so that I don’t disturb the people living downstairs. On May 5, 2016; my salary was paid and on the next day -May 6, I went to work and I met the gate locked which was unusual; I knocked several times and got no response. I could not get someone to open the gate and I went to the neighbour to alert her to open the gate and while talking to the neighbour, Temi -Ronke’s son- heard my voice and shouted ‘Grandma, Grandma’. I heard him and said ‘Temi where are you?’ he said ‘see me I’m here’ I asked ‘where is your mummy?’ and he said his mummy is in the parlour and that he had been waking her up but she is not responding.”

The nanny told the court that she got a ladder from the neighbour which was used by some neighbours to get to the window of the Shonde’s flat upstairs to peer into the apartment.

Adamolekun said further:

“They told me that from what they could see, my boss could be dead, I called Daddy Temi (Shonde) to inform him that they could not gain access to the home; he said he was coming but he never came. There was a cousin of Mummy Temi (Ronke) who was there and he also assured me that the defendant will come. My boss was lying on her back on the floor, remembering how she looked that day does not give me joy, I did not have a key to the house and only my boss and her husband had keys to the house.”

On cross-examination by Robert Clarke, Adamolekun told the court that the children told her they did not know what happened to their mom because they were asleep throughout the night.

She recalled:

“I do not usually know what goes on in the house after I close from work and on that day, the children said they have been trying to wake their mummy but she was unresponsive.”

As at the time Ronke Shonde died, her husband, Lekan Shonde was 51 years old, She was 39 years old while their son and daughter were 6 and 5 years old respectively.

The presiding judge, Justice Josephine Oyefeso, adjourned the case till November 30, for submission of final written addresses.