A 20-year-old cobbler, Awolesi Ademola who was arrested by the police in Lagos for allegedly stabbing his friend identified as Akeem to death in Mushin area of the state says he committed the act in self-defence.
Ademola who had his shop around the railway line in the Mushin area was said to have been friends with the deceased for some time now and they usually had disagreements over issues.
The suspect, a native of Ogun State and the first born of five children said he started keeping away from Akeem because he took to hemp.
According to Ademola, he stabbed Akeem in self-defence because the victim had on Tuesday last week at about 10pm attacked him in his house for no reason.
He said, “We have been friends for a long time but I chose to separate from him when he started living recklessly. He always tried to harass me even for no reason.
“On that Tuesday, I was working on a shoe in my shop. I needed a knife to complete the work, so I rushed home to get a small table knife. I did not return it until the close of work that day.
“On my way home, I saw Akeem standing in a corner close to my house and I just passed him. On getting home, I was told he had been there for a long time and I immediately suspected he was out for trouble; I chose not to talk to him.
“Instead, I called a friend, Idris, and reported Akeem to him. He advised me not to make trouble with him. While I was seeing off Idris, who had also come to visit me that night at about 10pm, Akeem emerged from nowhere and started punching me, which was his usual way of harassing me.
“When I saw he was overpowering me, I brought out the knife to scare him. But unfortunately, while we were struggling for the knife, I stabbed him in the hand.”
Ademola said he fled the scene when he noticed the victim was bleeding.
Following the incident, the victim was rushed to a herbal clinic, where he lost a lot of blood.
“Our neighbours reported what happened to my father, and he called me and advised me not to come home, that he would handle the matter.
He added,“At about 5pm the next day, a woman called me saying the case was very serious. I chose to go out to see if some of my friends could help me with money.
“I was on my way to a friend’s house when some guys on a motorcycle parked in front of me and asked if I was the one that stabbed Akeem. They took me to the neighbourhood where I was informed that Akeem was dead. They alleged I stabbed him with a poisonous knife,” he added.
It was learnt that while the corpse of the deceased was deposited in a mortuary, Ademola was taken to the Alakara Police Division from where he was later transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigation.
The suspect while appealing for clemency said he never meant to kill his friend.
“It was not an intentional act; he was my friend. I have known him since secondary school. I stopped relating with him because he started smoking hemp and living a bad life and my father asked me to stop being friends with him,” Ademola said.
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