A Nigerian man is facing murder charges after he allegedly brutally assaulted his pregnant girlfriend and killed her sister with a machete when the girlfriend refused to abort their unborn child.
The girlfriend, Justina Dusu, 27, and her child survived the attack, and she gave birth to the baby boy this week, the Nigerian news outlet Naij reports.
Nigerian authorities charged Stephen Luka with murder, attempted murder, assault and abuse; he denies the charges, according to the report.
He allegedly attacked Dusu and her sister, Simi, on July 27, 2016 at his home in Sabon Gari, Nigeria when the women visited him to discuss Dusu and Luka’s unborn child, the report states.
Dusu recently told a Jos High Court that she and Luka began a relationship in 2007. When Luka learned that she was pregnant last summer, he told her that he was not ready to be a father, Dusu said, according to Today Nigeria.
“I told him I would rather give birth to the baby and give to my parents than have an abortion,” Dusu told the court.
According to police, Dusu and her sister visited Luka on July 27 to discuss the pregnancy. Dusu said Luka insisted she have an abortion, but she refused and her sister supported her decision. Police said Luka then attacked both sisters with a machete, killing Simi and injuring Dusu.
Dusu lost an eye and sustained other severe injuries in the attack, the report states. She told the news outlet that she wants justice.
“I have forgiven Luka over what he did to me and my sister, but I need justice. Justice must be served and he must be punished for his actions,” Dusu said.
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She also said she is happy to have her son, no matter what his father may have done.
“I love my son very much,” Dusu said. “He has not done anything to me. He is innocent and I can’t hate him. I have put the past behind me. I don’t want to remember the horrible things that happened to me and my sister. When I look at my child, I feel happy.”
Pregnant women face high levels of domestic violence. In the United States, one in six women is first abused during pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Abortion sometimes is linked to the abuse. Last June, LifeNews reported about another gruesome murder case involving a North Carolina woman who allegedly was murdered by her boyfriend after refusing to abort their child.
And in March 2016, a Brooklyn, New York man was sentenced to 32 years in prison for a similar case. A jury found Torey Branch, 35, guilty of abortion, burglary and assault for beating his pregnant girlfriend and causing the death of their unborn child, LifeNews reported.
