A 12-year-old boy, Samson Egunje, has been accused of
killing his friend, Samuel Igbekele, in the Ikotun area of Lagos State.
The incident happened on Saturday on Omoboriowo Street.Residents said the suspect, a primary six pupil, had been
looking for the victim all day, saying he abused him in the morning and
threatening that he would stab him in revenge.Egunje was said to have stabbed Samuel with a bottle in the
neck that evening while he (Samuel), a primary three pupil, ran errand for a
neighbour.After the attack, the victim reportedly held his neck as he
ran across the road in a frantic effort to get to his parents’ house which was
a few kilometres away.Samuel, after taking some feeble steps, was said to have
collapsed.A resident, Ibrahim Sulaiman, said he saw him on the floor
in a pool of blood that night.He said, “I was under a tent where some people had had a
wedding ceremony. I saw some kids playing with bottles and I drove them away.
“After I finished drinking with my friends, I went to a
woman selling noodles and asked her to prepare some for me and that I would
come back for it.“While returning for my noodles, I saw the woman beaming a
torch on the boy, and when I asked her who he was, she said she did not know
him.”The victim’s father, Solomon, a bricklayer, said his
landlord’s son alerted him to the incident and he took him for medical
treatment.He explained that Samuel was about to eat his dinner on the
fateful night when the neighbour sent him on an errand.“It was not up to five minutes when my landlord’s son ran in
and said my son had been stabbed with a bottle.“I ran there and saw him on the floor. I took him to a
nearby hospital and the nurses there did not want to accept him from us, but
when the doctor came out and examined him, he certified him dead on arrival,”
he said.
The victim’s mother, Mary, told our correspondent that she
took Samuel’s corpse to the suspect’s mother’s house.She said she laid him in front of the house for more than
one hour because she momentarily lost her mind.“Before Samuel died, I asked him who stabbed him and he kept
saying ‘Samson, Samson’ before he went silent.“I asked Samson why he killed my son, and he said Samuel
abused him in the morning and he had promised to stab him.“My son had just bought new clothes and shoes for the New
Year celebration, but he can no longer wear them. They have taken away my joy.”
She said she suspected the suspect’s mother was trying to
bury the case, adding that nothing would satisfy her than to see her son get
justice.
Our correspondent learnt that the Ikotun Police Division had
arrested Egunje and five other kids in the neighbourhood.The corpse has been deposited at the Isolo hospital morgue.PUNCH Metro visited the residence of the Egunjes and
met some residents who initially were reluctant to speak about the incident.After some banters with our correspondent, one of them, who
did not identify herself said the suspect, who was in primary six, was not
known for unruly behaviour.She said, “We didn’t even know about the incident until the
boy’s mother brought the corpse to the front of the house.
“Samson was well-behaved and when he has done something
wrong, he will start crying and tell you what he has done. There were several
kids with him that night and it is doubtful he killed the boy. Even the corpse
showed there was just a small gash in his neck.”It was learnt that the suspect’s parents were separated and
he lived with his mother.The Police Public Relations Officer, Kenneth Nwosu confirmed
the incident.He said, “The matter is almost concluded and ready for
transfer to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba. Five suspects
have been arrested.”
Via.punch
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