Children of a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Joseph Daudu (SAN), have denied that their mother died after 28 years of domestic violence.
Mrs Ranti Daudu, a lawyer and former member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), reportedly died of minor stroke in Kaduna on Thursday, July 6.
The 54-year-old was, up till the point of death, battling a divorce suit instituted against her by her husband.
She was said to have fallen ill on Wednesday and died of heart attack on Thursday, the day she was scheduled to appear in court to give oral evidence in respect of the divorce suit.
Former NHRC chairman, Chidi Odinkalu, in a series of tweets on Friday, blamed the death on domestic violence.
Aftr more than 28 yrs of vicious domestic violence, my big sister, Ranti Daudu, died last night in Kaduna. Awful!! pic.twitter.com/6I3fuT1gai
— Chidi Odinkalu (@ChidiOdinkalu) July 7, 2017
Ranti had heart, soul & goodness. She endured torture no one shd live with at the hands of a big man. She’s at rest pic.twitter.com/hAzKXC8ndc
— Chidi Odinkalu (@ChidiOdinkalu) July 7, 2017
So did co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group, Aisha Yesufu.
Oh God! R B Daudu my big Sis. Last we discussed she said even the children had asked her to leave else they wont have respect for her
— Aisha Yesufu (@AishaYesufu) July 7, 2017
The deceased’s children have, however, denied the allegations in a statement released on Monday.
Paul and Benedict Daudu, who signed the statement on behalf of the six children, said comments made on social media and online reports suggesting that their mother was a victim of domestic violence were false.
Although they said the marriage between their father and mother had its ups and downs, they said it never degenerated to a level where their mother had to suffer domestic violence in the hands of their father.
They also threatened to take “all necessary steps” against those who published “defamatory remarks” aimed at tarnishing their family name.
The statement read in part, “We are still in pain at loss of our beloved mother who meant the world to us.
“We may be in mourning at this time, but this, in no uncertain terms, should, on any account, be mistaken for weakness as we, the children, will not hesitate to take all necessary steps against all and sundry who publish defamatory remarks aimed solely at tarnishing our family name and indeed the image of our dearly departed mother.”
Responding to online reports attributing the cause of their mother’s death to domestic violence, the children, although regretted that their parents had to live apart for the past four years, described the reports as fallacious rumours.
