Trader kills man over N50 bread in lagos

Firstclass newsline learnt that a 28-year-old man, Ajayi Peters,
akaAjana, has been stabbed to death in the Yaba area of Lagos State
after a disagreement over N50 loaf of bread.
Firstclass newsline learnt from residents that Peters was killed by a
bread vendor, identified simply as Yinka, akaBuredi.
Firstclass newsline learnt that Peters had tried to prevail on Yinka
after he refused to sell a loaf to one of his customers on credit.
Firstclass newsline learnt that there was an argument between the men
and in the ensuing scuffle, Peters grabbed a knife and stabbed the
deceased in the head.
He was said to have died in a private hospital.
The incident happened at a roundabout on Church Street, Makoko, Yaba,
where Yinka sold bread on a slab.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told firstclass
newsline that the fight began around 11pm on Tuesday.
He said, "The incident happened on Tuesday, June 16, around 11pm. The
man that died was collecting fees from traders. He andBuredi(Yinka)
had been having issues becauseAjana(Peters) and some members of his
group sometimes threw away his goods whenever they had problems with
him.
"But on that day, a man had approached him to buy N50 loaf of bread on
credit. The bread seller started shouting at the customer that he
should not come near his bread because he was not ready to sell on
credit.
"At a point,Buredisaid, 'No powerful man on this street can take the
loaf from me and give you.'"
It was learnt that the deceased, who felt insulted by the veiled
reference to him, asked the suspect to give the customer the loaf.
This was said to have aggravated the case as both men took turns to
insult each other.
Another resident, who did not identify himself, said Peters pushed the suspect.
"The bread seller fell to the ground. In anger, he picked a knife and
stabbedAjanain the head. He started bleeding.
"But not realising the seriousness of the injuries, Ajana began to
look for a weapon with which to attack back," the resident added.
It was learnt that the suspect fled the scene, while Peters walked
down to a private hospital on the street.
A source was told that a doctor attended to him and stitched the wound.
A woman, who was reportedly close to the victim, said, "But the injury
was deeper than we thought. He died from the injuries around 4am."
Firstclass newsline learnt that the bread vendor, who was unaware of
the development, was tricked by some people in the community to come
for a truce meeting.
A resident, Solomon Ojo, said, "The bread seller did not knowAjanahad
died. He thought he was only injured and had treated himself.
"When he was called in the morning for a truce meeting, he was
surrounded by some youths in the area who wanted to kill him. But some
community leaders prevailed on them to hand him over to the police."
The suspect was said to have been arrested by policemen from the
Adekunle division, while the corpse of the deceased was deposited in a
mortuary.
A source in the area told firstclass newsline the suspect did not mean
to kill the deceased.
He said the bread vendor had always been harassed by hoodlums in the
community, adding that it was unfortunate Peters died from the attack.
He said, "The problem started during the elections when they
discovered he was supporting a rival political party. They harassed
him and damaged his goods at that time.
"Whenever they saw him plying his trade, they harassed him. What
happened that day was just unfortunate. The man only acted in self
defence."
The Police Public Relations Officer, Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident.
He said the matter had been transferred to the State Department of
Criminal Investigation for further investigation.
Firstclassnewsline.net