By Olawale Akanni
Gospel Singer, Mr. Salau Aliu Olayiwola popularly known as Testimony Jaga has reacted to the allegation of woman assault from the incident that occurred in his neighborhood on January 17, 2023.
Disturbed over an allegation of physical assault by Testimony Jaga that he instructed over 20 boys (loyalists) to gang-beat co-landlord’s wife, Mrs. Agbede Abimbola, who resides in Akinrinmade close Suberu-Oje in Agbado Local Council Development Area (LCDA) on Tuesday 17th January 2023.
After agreement at Alagbado Police Station that the matter will be settled within the community. The matter regenerated again when Mrs. Abimbola Agbede called seeking justice over the physical assault.
Frown at the woman assault, SCCAN President, Rashidat Olushola Okunlade called Testimony Jaga to hear his own side of the matter, Mr. Salau Aliu Olayiwola (Testimony Jaga) said: “I never touch her even when she slaps, pushed me away at the scene of the incident and I was the first complainant at Alagbado Police Station because I was trained not to beat women and I cannot beat her”
Speaking with the Security and Crime Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCCAN)’s President for over ten minutes on a phone call on Monday 30 January 2023, Testimony Jaga explained what happened.
“I have been invited by the Area Commander (Area P) Abesan Ipaja to meet on Tuesday 31 January 2023 at 04:00 pm, Mrs. Abimbola Agbede, her husband, and I including others will meet there. Journalists are free to meet us there tomorrow and I will explain what ensued that day to everyone” he said.
Salau Aliu Olayiwola’s (Testimony Jaga) said: “I was in front of my house in the means of my people. We do hold weekly fellowship in the area and were dedicating a car when the incident occurred. It was the woman who slapped and pushed me away when her friend was complaining about the roadblock. It shows she was not well trained, how can a woman push a man and slap him? Her friend in a car came to visit her, and we were not blocking the road. My fellowship members rushed her in my defense when they saw what she did. Mrs. Abimbola Agbede also held onto my shirt and also damaged my multi-million naira gold chain. I thank God I have all the video proof, I don’t pass my boundary, co landlord’s wife walked up to me in front of my property, and slapped me, in front of my people, do you expect my people to look on and do nothing.
“I called the police to be involved because as a good citizen, whatever thing that is going on, you have to call the authorities to be involved. Thank God she never said that I touched her despite all the insults that were passed to me. The reason I signed her bail at Alagbado Police Station was because of the people our father honorable sent to me, Akinolu and co, Alhaji Isiaka, and all of them, and I cannot see them and say I did not see any great people or good people and I released them.
“I’m not a pastor, I own a fellowship, we have a program we always do every year, we had the program on Friday so we give a lot of people different things. On that day, a woman started pressing her car horn. So the horn was disturbing what we were doing. So, I gave a signal and sent some of my leaders to go and meet her and explain what we were doing. That she should give us 10 minutes that we would round off. Immediately we finished, I was going, I just saw the woman coming and she said “Mr. Jaga come here.
“Her friend who came to visit said when next we have the program, we should make room for people to drive past. I felt she couldn’t have been older than me. But I kept quiet and I said okay and turned back. Then my people shouted, “Jaga is here, Jesus is here”. The next thing my neighbor’s wife that is leaving in my area, Mrs. Abimbola Agbede said, “Ki wo ma pariwo oruko e o, emi o jeun ni under anybody o, awa o se awon too fun lonje o”.
“I looked at her and said this woman, I didn’t say anything even when you insulted me, your husband is a landlord, I’m a landlord in this place, first of all, I’m in the front of my house, in the front of my premises and you want to insult me like that. The next thing this woman held my shirt, cut my chain, and gave me a dirty slap.“If you want to do your investigation, go back to the Police Station. They had to beg me. The DPO told me not to sign her bail that day and that we should settle the matter within our community. Her husband’s friend was the one begging me that day that I should just let it go.’’
He said further: “It was the woman that slapped me first. I didn’t lay my hands on her. An elderly woman asked why she would slap me. I told them that nobody should touch her, even if anyone will touch her, let it be women that will touch her, then she pretended that she fainted. “I told them to go and bring water. That we might think she’s playing, that it’s not everybody that has good health. They poured water on her. She pretended like she has woken up again, the lady who poured water on her, she held the woman’s hair.’’
”I tell you that what happened that day is still on my mind. I’m still praying for God to let it go because there’s no how, I am close to 40, and there’s no how a woman will walk up to me and slap me in the front of my property and the woman even said I never touched her, and even at the police station, I took myself so low.
“I was the one that bailed her. I agreed with the DPO woman and said they should detain both of them until her husband comes back. They should come, he wants to see the husband that couldn’t train his wife very well, go and walk to a man’s property, in front of his place and slap him, the woman was angry all the people in the police station, but still, I still keep my cool, because they told me to forget about my gold chain and let it go.
“I even called the woman that day and begged her and I said I don’t like this. Even the Police told her if you want to correct people, you don’t correct them rudely in front of their property. We are all landlords. You were not supposed to talk to him that way.”
Mrs. Abimbola Agbede’s side of the matter: On that fateful day, the housewife said his eldest child celebrated his birthday and she ordered items to give him and a few friends a treat. She said a friend was bringing the items in a car but could not access the close because the singer’s fellowship blocked vehicular movement. My friend asked me to follow her to the car to bring the items to the house and we got to the fellowship point where she approached Jaga. I didn’t even know what they discussed. The next thing he just came over to me and started pointing fingers at my forehead, screaming ‘’I am a landlord in this neighbourhood like you people. You have to learn how to respect me. I was so shocked and I pushed his hands away, asking if he was going to beat me up. Jaja immediately ordered his people to descend on me.
“The next thing was a slap from all his boys. I was mobbed by over 20 people who beat me up. I was fasting and went down immediately. They beat me so much that I slumped. When I managed to regain strength, I held on to one of them to stand up. But they beat me even more, dragging me to a gutter on the road,’’ Mrs. Agbede narrated.
“I had never seen anything like that in my mind. I was wondering if that was how I would die. I managed to stand up and they beat me to a pulp again until I lost balance. Then, two ladies among them came from nowhere and poured urine on me. Jaga kept saying he was going to teach me a lesson. I couldn’t talk or resist. I simply lay helpless, I managed to leave there. I called my husband because he was not around. My husband advised me to go to the police station to report. Jaga asked his boys to close the gate to our street. He told my friend not to leave or else she will be “butchered”. So, a police patrol came in. The officers from the Alagbado Police Station at AIT, Alagbado came to pick us up because Jaga called them to pick us up. All of the incidents happened around 12:00 noon.
Jaga didn’t show up until around 4:00 pm. He wrote his own statement. I wrote mine. The landlord association representatives came begging me. The officers were taking sides with Testimony Jaga, they passed the blame to my friend she caused the issue.
“I was not feeling fine at the station, I was not breathing properly. They gave me the undertaking to write stating that I’m okay with the matter being settled amicably. I was left unattended at the police station. They even tried to assault my friend. Because I was feeling so stressed, I wrote the statement that I was pleased with the settlement. That night I landed in the hospital where I was treated.’’
Olayinka Agbede, husband to the allegedly assaulted woman said Testimony Jaga assaulted his wife to settle old scores. He said he once petitioned the Lagos State Government when the singer was running a clubhouse that was causing noise pollution in the neighborhood.
“The whole thing was my action to curb the excesses of noise pollution in the area caused by Jaga. He had a clubhouse and a church property. We approached him to complain about the issue, but he refused. So, I wrote a petition against him to the ministry because he was disturbing the neighborhood with noise, even around 11:00 pm. Ever since then, he has been looking for ways to get back at me.
“On two occasions, he has sent cohorts to fight me on the street. I got a distress call from my wife on the day of the incident that she was assaulted at the command of Testimony Jaga. He also threatened me via a voice note. They beat my wife to pulp on that day. Without medical attention, the police even held my wife down for long hours.
“I had to see how she was rushed to one hospital in Alagbado because I was far away. She had serious internal pain. The police treated me in a very appalling manner.
“I’ve reported the case to the Lagos Commissioner of police. I wrote a petition and I’ve submitted the petition. He has been issuing threats to me that he’ll wipe away my family, kill my wife and that I should sell my property and leave the place where I’m leaving.
“I want justice to be served. The police station at AIT Alagbado is compromised on the matter. He (Jaga) believes he has a lot of influence. So, he is always romancing the police officers. Everybody has silent complaints about the roadblocks, so they cannot all talk about it because he is always giving out gifts to people in the community.
“He is always surrounded by thugs and miscreants. He moves around with them and they are a threat to my life and my family. They go around harassing people. It is a lie from the pit of hell that my wife cut his chain. He is using that to blackmail my wife. On two occasions, he has planned an attack on me, and he failed.”
Mrs. Agnes John, the friend of the assaulted housewife, confirmed that she walked up to Jaga to advise him against the roadblocking. She said: “I went to my friend’s place because her son was celebrating his birthday. She called me to bring some things to her place. On getting to the street, the road was blocked. I was horning. Then a guy appeared waving that I should stop disturbing them. I was still waiting. It was a lady that told me to park my car somewhere because Jaga’s people had blocked the road.
“When I saw Jaga, I called on him saying that I wanted to see him, and he told me to come instead. So I walked up to him and advised him that anytime they are having a program, they should create space because there could be an emergency. That was what I said. When I left there, I didn’t even look back.
“The next thing, I just saw that Jaga’s people had pounced on my friend. The people there were saying why did I go and talk to Jaga. I was helpless because he was surrounded by stern-looking people. They surrounded my friend, beating her. They dragged her into the gutter. Another lady came out and poured urine on her.
“While we made an attempt to leave the street to report to the police, he threatened us. The police came to pick us up. We went there (police station) and Jaga showed up after several calls. Community people came around to try and settle it. They were blaming me that I was at fault, that I should have not gone to meet Jaga and correct him for blocking the road.
“My friend didn’t slap Testimony Jaga. She did not. I was the one who reacted to the parking issue. Then the next thing I heard was Testimony Jaga shouting at my friend saying that “the same way you’re a landlord in this area, is the same way I’m also a landlord” so it led to Jaga’s people pouncing on her.”
