Footballer kills mechanic over age difference Argument

Disagreement over age difference has led to the death of a mechanic, Moruf Sanni, in the Yaba area of Lagos State. Moruf and a resident, identified simply as Somebody, had first fought on Sunday night.

Jacob, a 20-year-old footballer from Afikpo North, Ebonyi State, was said to have accosted the victim and stabbed him several times in the neck and head until he gave up the ghost. The incident happened on Ajoke Street in Ago village, Iwaya,Yaba.

The fight was reportedly over age rivalry as Somebody claimed to be older than Moruf, while the 23-year-old victim said he was older and deserved to be respected by the former.

Some elders in the community were said to have intervened and mediated between the duo.

However, on Monday, our correspondent was told that Somebody called one Jacob to beat up the victim and teach him a lesson.

A resident, Sikiru Alabi, said he was attracted to the scene of the incident by the noise made by residents.

Alabi, who described Moruf as a hardworking mechanic, said he met both the suspect and victim’s corpse tied together in the midst of a crowd.

He said, “That fateful Monday, around 7.30am, I heard people speaking that somebody had been killed.

“I did not want to go there, but when I learnt it was Moruf that was involved, I decided to see things for myself.

“On getting to the scene, I saw that the boy was dead. He was stabbed in the neck and head. 

The boy, who killed him, had also been arrested by the community and was chained to the corpse. People put the corpse on his shoulders and asked him to carry his load.”

He said to prevent a mob action, he quickly alerted policemen from the Sabo division.

Moruf’s father, Lukman, a taxi driver, said he had gone to look for fuel and when he returned, a neighbour told him what happened.

“Somebody ran to my house. He said a strange man was fighting with my son. I immediately rushed there, only to see the corpse of my son.

“The suspect was tied to my son’s corpse. I simply thanked him for killing my son and walked away.”

Our correspondent gathered that the victim’s mother, on seeing her dead son, lost her mind.

A relative, who did not identify herself, told our correspondent that it was the second time in three years that such calamity would befall the family.

She said, “February 20 of this year made it exactly three years that the first child of the family was killed.

“A police stray bullet hit him when the police came to look for some hoodlums. So, when this one happened again, their mother just ran away and has not been seen since then.”

Our correspondent learnt that she could also not be reached on the telephone since the incident happened.

Moruf’s body had been deposited in a mortuary while the suspect had been arrested by the police.

Moruf’s father urged the police to release his corpse to the family for burial.

A police source, however, told our correspondent that the suspect did not talk about the age difference issue in his confessional statement.

The source said, “He said they went for a birthday party on Sunday night and it was there they had a disagreement.

“The following morning, he confronted Moruf and the deceased then brought out a knife which he collected from him.

“He said Moruf then got a bottle and it was while he wanted to block him from using it that it mistakenly stabbed him in the neck.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident. He added that the matter had been transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigations.

Punch