Man escapes death after stabbing over refusal to Allow circumcision of Daughter

A man identified as Nduka Olise Obegene has reportedly escaped death after his elder brother during a violent altercation stabbed him in his back over his refusal to allow his 11-years-old daughter go through the cultural practice of female genital mutilation as prescribed by the dictates of his custom and tradition.

It was gathered that the family of Nduka Olise Obegene had on June 13th 2009 barely 4 months after the delivery of Victoria Obegene lost her to excessive bleeding from the crude cultural practice of female genital mutilation.

According to a family source who craved anonymity, an elderly woman in the family had performed the crude procedure of female genital mutilation on Victoria Obegene barely 4 months after her birth following mounting pressure from elders of his community to have his daughter circumcised to which he obliged.

It was gathered that culturally, female children from his family members and community were usually circumcised few months after birth to reduce every possibility of promiscuity during adulthood while woman from other cultural background going into marriage in the community in Delta State according to cultural demands are expected to be circumcised in adulthood as a precondition for marriage.

Our correspondent was reliably informed that the death of Victoria Obegene however marked a turning point in the family of Nduka Olise Obegene as his emotionally distraught wife Stellamaris Orobosa Obegene remained highly inconsolable after the death of her first child as a result of the crude cultural practice of female genital mutilation.

However in 2011 the family of Nduka Olise Obegene was again blessed with another daughter to the admiration of every family members as it was said that the elders in his family were again constantly breathing down his neck to have Destiny Obegene on her 11th birthday undergo the mandatory female genital mutilation.

In 2022 a family meeting between him and members of his family in Asaba Delta State degenerated into a bloody violent altercation when his elder brother violently attacked and stabbed him in his back with a broken bottle after he vehemently turned down a family request to have Destiny Obegene circumcised as she immediately turned 11 in 2022.

Several attempts by his family to perform the crude and unwholesome practice of circumcision on his daughter was reported at the police to which Nduka Olise Obegene was assured by the police of their cooperation in carrying out investigation into the case .

Meanwhile, the police in Asaba having transferred the case to the office of the AIG Zone 5 in Benin City, Edo State for further investigatio, advised Nduka Olise Obegene to seek for amicable resolution to the family conflict, it was confirmed.

Our correspondent was reliably told that the elders were firm and resolute in their submission when the circumcision of Destiny Obegene was being deliberated upon as it was the acceptable norm and culture of the family to have every female child circumcised in order to protect her from the tendency of promiscuity during adulthood.

The family source added that Nduka Olise Obegene and his elder brother fought in the full glare of the public as he fought desperately to protect his family from suffering another tragic loss from the emotional trauma of losing Victoria Obegene to female genital mutilation in June 13th 2009.

Nduka Olise Obegene bled profusely from the stab in his back as he was immediately taken to a health facility for urgent medical services, it was confirmed.

Meanwhile, it was said that following his recuperation after receiving urgent medical attention to control the excessive bleeding from the stabbing, Nduka Olise Obegene returned to Lagos State as he was said to have fled from his community with his family owing to the mounting pressure to have the female genital mutilation performed on his daughter Destiny Obegene after she turned 11 years .

A recent visit to members of his family in Delta and Lagos States respectively confirmed the resolute decision of the elders to have Nduka Olise Obegene daughter Destiny Obegene circumcised wherever she was seeking refuge in the country with her parents as his elder brother who confided in our correspondent disclosed that the cultural practice of female genital mutilation was not a death sentence in the family but a cultural process that must be performed on female children in the family to curb certain attitudinal behavior in every girl child during adulthood adding that his own daughter was circumcised several years ago and as such Destiny Obegene was not different from every other girlchild in the family.