The photograph was taken on a Sunday the first Sunday of the year. Ganiyat Ayanwale smiled softly into the camera, unaware it would soon become a haunting keepsake of a life brutally cut short.
Just days later, Ganiyat, a young mother of three, was stabbed to death inside her home at River Valley Estate, Ogun State, in a chilling case of domestic violence that has shaken the community and reignited national outrage.
According to reports, Ganiyat was attacked on Thursday, January 8, 2026. By the time help arrived, she had lost a significant amount of blood and sustained severe internal injuries. She was pronounced dead at about 8:30 p.m. at Gifted Hands Hospital. She had spent 13 years as a mother — years that ended in violence witnessed by her own children.
Neighbours said the attack unfolded after one of the children screamed following the first stab. Ganiyat reportedly attempted to flee after the second blow but was dragged back and stabbed repeatedly. Bleeding heavily, she staggered towards the gate as neighbours rushed in, alerted by her cries for help.
On the way to the hospital, she reportedly spoke in broken breaths, insisting she had done nothing wrong.
“I just entered the house,” she was said to have murmured. “He attacked me.”
Doctors later confirmed that multiple knife wounds, including injuries close to her lungs, severely impaired her breathing. Minutes after arriving at the hospital, she died.
Residents described her husband, Mr. Ayoola Ayanwale, as a serial wife beater. According to eyewitness accounts, he allegedly attempted to force Ganiyat to ingest a poisonous substance after sending their older child to purchase a locally known pesticide. When she refused, he reportedly locked the younger children in a room, picked up a knife and attacked her — all in the presence of the children.
What followed deepened the horror. Witnesses alleged that after the attack, the suspect returned to the apartment to clean blood stains before fleeing the scene.
Barely 12 hours later, Mr. Ayanwale was found in an open field in Sotubo, Ogun State, struggling to breathe. He was later pronounced dead in what police suspect to be suicide. Items recovered at the scene included a bottle containing a suspected liquid substance, two mobile phones, a voter’s card and an ATM card.
Confirming the incident, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, said the command was aware of the case and would issue a detailed statement.
Today, three children are left with memories instead of parents — memories of violence, fear and irreversible loss. Neighbours told Vanguard that even in her final moments, Ganiyat asked for water and questioned what offence she had committed to deserve such brutality.
There was no answer.
This is more than a crime report. It is a human tragedy — one that mirrors countless untold stories across Nigeria. Advocates continue to stress that marriage is not a do-or-die arrangement. Love is not violence, and endurance is not a virtue when it becomes fatal.
Experts warn that abusive relationships rarely improve in silence. They escalate — and too often, they end in funerals.
For women trapped in fear, Ganiyat’s story carries a painful but urgent message: staying alive is more important than staying married. There is no honour in suffering quietly, and no shame in choosing yourself.
The year has barely begun, yet another woman is gone.
