A Hausa noodles seller identified as Adamu allegedly killed a commercial bus driver, Olalekan Adeleke following a disagreement over N30, in the Igando area of Lagos last Sunday night.
Adamu reportedly hit the deceased with a plank with nails on the head, while trying to escape from him after paying the said debt. He fell and died on the spot.
According to an eyewitness, trouble started when the 37-year-old deceased visited a canteen owned by the suspect at College Bus Stop to eat. He requested for noodles and two eggs to be prepared for him, after which he was given a bill of N230. He was said to have paid N200 to the suspect’s son, a development which angered the food vendor.
“The boy then told his father that Adeleke paid N200 and promised to come back with N30 shortly but his father ran after Adeleke”, the witness said.
Other customers present at the scene appealed to Adamu to allow Adeleke go home to get the balance of N30. It was further gathered that when Adeleke came back with the money, Adamu reportedly continued the fight.
“People who saw him running after Adeleke to the other side of the road, told him to calm down that Adeleke would not go away with the money”, the sorce said.
“Later, Adeleke brought the N30 and asked the boy if it was because of N30 they wanted to embarrass him. He was not happy, and also asked the boy that even if he didn’t have money, that can’t they give him food and pay when he had money”.
“As Adeleke was inside the container talking to his son, Adamu just entered with a plank he was holding and hit his side”.
The late Adeleke was said to have escaped and was about crossing the road when Adamu went after him and hit him on the head with a piece of wood. He fell and died.
“So, Adeleke turned around to know what happened and when he saw it was Adamu, he struggled to take the plank from him but he couldn’t. I was still eating. I left my food and went inside to stop Adamu but he used the same plank to beat me three times. My hands and legs are still swollen. I fell on the ground and I was weak”, said the source.
“After the struggle, Adeleke ran outside. As a peaceful man, he was going to cross the expressway when Adamu chased him again. He didn’t know Adamu was coming behind him. That was how Adamu used the plank and hit him on the head again. The nail on the plank burst Adeleke’s head and he fell on the ground.”
The source continued: “When I saw what had happened, I called our other guys who were on the other side to come. People who were eating gathered and told Adamu to take him to the hospital, but he was busy pouring water on his head. But when he saw that our colleagues were coming, Adamu and his son fled. Others started chasing him but he used allegedly use ‘charms’ to distract the people, so we therefore called our chairman who called the police.”
“I chased him too and found him inside a gutter at Ikotun road. He was hiding under a slab and refused to come out until the police came.”
Another driver, who gave his name as Eniola, described Adamu as a very violent man, adding that he chased a customer with a cutlass two months ago.
According to Eniola, Adamu’s ear was chopped off some years back at Igando because he stabbed somebody to death. The suspect, sensing a mob action on him, ran and hid in a drainage until police arrived. He was later arrested and Adeleke’s corpse carted away.
“Youths in the area burnt down Adamu’s shop. We have destroyed the container and burnt it. Even his charms, we have removed all the ones we saw.”
Adeleke’s widow, Fatimo, stated that her last word with her late husband was his promise to pay their eight-year-old daughter’s school fees this week.
According to his aged mother, “My hope and joy is gone. The only son that made me to forget the pain of being a widow is gone.”
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, who confirmed the incident, said investigation is ongoing.