A 28-year-old man, Ajayi Peters, aka Ajana, has been stabbed to death in the Yaba area of Lagos State after a disagreement over N50 loaf of bread.
PUNCH Metro learnt from residents that Peters was killed by a bread vendor, identified simply as Yinka, aka Buredi.
Our correspondents gathered that Peters had tried to prevail on Yinka after he refused to sell a loaf to one of his customers on credit.
It was 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 PUNCH Metro 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 and Buredi (Yinka) had been having issues because Ajana (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, Buredi said, ‘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 stabbed Ajana in 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.
PUNCH Metro 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.”
Our correspondents 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 know Ajana had 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 PUNCH Metro 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.
