Lanre Gentry, the estranged husband of Nollywood actress, Mercy Aigbe, is still in Kirikiri prison, one week after he was docked for domestic violence charges.
The efforts of his lawyers and friends to ensure that he regains his freedom on Monday was shattered. This was because all the magistrates in Lagos attended a state-wide conference and none of them was available to attend to his bail application.
Consequently, Asiwaju Gentry, as he is popularly called, will spend his seventh night in prison.
His team, however, hopes that all goes well so he can return home on Tuesday.
The controversial hotelier, who was tried at a Magistrate Court 1 sitting at Ogba, Ikeja, on three count charges under the State Criminal law 2011, has been unable to meet the bail condition of N500, 000 as well as provision of tax verification and two sureties, one of whom must own property in Lagos State.
This may be a confirmation of widespread rumours that he is broke.
Mr. Gentry, who was alleged to have physically assaulted his actress wife, Mercy, appeared before the court last Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against him by the Lagos State Government.
The state government waded into the alleged domestic violence after the actress reported her alleged attack to the Lagos State Government through the Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team.
Meanwhile, Mercy has become an advocate for the Lagos State Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team. She appreciated the Lagos State commissioner for women affairs and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in a series of Instagram posts on Monday.
She has also been urging her fans and followers to share her posts because they just might be helping a domestic violence victim.
A fight between the couple allegedly led to her bleeding, a situation which informed her decision to storm the office of the Lagos State Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Commissioner, Lola Akande, to report the matter.
Mrs. Akande was said to have handed over the case to the state Ministry of Justice. Despite the explanations given by Mr. Gentry that the pictures of the actress’ bruised face were behind-the-scene images from a movie set, the actress has secured a restraining order against him.
Mr. Gentry has been ordered by a court not to come within one mile of Mercy Aigbe’s location at all times.
The couple was married for seven years and the union produced a son. While it is Mercy’s second marriage, it is her husband’s third marriage.
Courtesy: PREMIUM TIMES
Am glad the law is dealing with Mr. Gentry accordingly. People need to know they can’t get away with the horrible things they do to another human being.