One Raphael Nwoye on Tuesday stabbed a 33-year-old man, Ifeanyi Onuoha, over claims that he (Onuoha) had been rude to his lover.
The incident which occurred in Niyi Ogunbameru Street in the Ajao Estate area of Lagos State, saw Nwoye, a 25-year-old casual worker who usually offloads containers, stabbing his victim in the neck and in the back and injured two others who tried to make peace.
According to Nwoye, the victim on different occasions insulted his lover, identified only as Ngozi and that he had warned Onuoha several times to desist from insulting her.
Onuoha, also a casual worker, reportedly came into the area on Tuesday to see if there were containers to offload when a fresh argument reportedly ensued between the duo over Ngozi.
Nwoye, who had a knife in a bag he carried, rushed at Onuoha and stabbed him in the neck and in the back, The Punch reports.
The deceased reportedly moved away while two bystanders, one of them identified only as Kenneth, tried to hold the suspect to prevent further attack. Nwoye allegedly stabbed the two peacemakers, prompting a resident to quickly alert the Ajao Estate Police Division to the bloody fight on the street.
While Onuoha died before reaching the hospital, the two others were said to be receiving treatment at the Isolo General Hospital and the suspect was thereafter arrested by the police.
A security man, Chukwu Ebuka, who spoke on the incident, said Onuoha and Nwoye were friends and labourers in the area, until they became rivals over a girl.
He said, “The girl in question is afraid. She has left this area since yesterday. Apart from Onuoha and Nwoye, there is a third labourer – Tony.
“Sometime in January, Nwoye had raised the issue that Onuoha was misbehaving with his girlfriend because he insulted her, but they settled the quarrel.
“On Tuesday, Tony had called Onuoha to come to the area as there were containers to be offloaded.
“When he arrived, there was a fresh argument over the girlfriend, and Nwoye became angry and brought out a knife.
“After killing his friend, he was about to escape when people stopped him that he must not escape and in the process, he stabbed two more persons. They were also bleeding but fortunately, we rushed them to a hospital, and they are still alive.
“We do not know Nwoye’s family. He is one of those men who do menial jobs on the street. He had been moving about with the knife in his bag for days before the incident,” the security man added.
The Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirming the incident said, “Nwoye was arrested for allegedly stabbing Onuoha to death.
“The deceased is of a yet-to-be-known address. He was stabbed in the neck and in the back, and he died on the spot.
“His corpse was deposited at the Isolo General Hospital Morgue for a post mortem examination.
“Meanwhile the suspect has been arrested and the case would be transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigation, SDCI, for further investigation,” the PPRO added.
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