₦airaland Forum

More details have emerged about the violent clash that claimed the life of a trader, Sodiq Ibrahim, in the Mandillas area of Lagos Island on Wednesday.

Our correspondent gathered on Thursday that Ibrahim was allegedly stabbed to death by his colleague, Ebuka Adindu, during a dispute over the sharing of N8,000.

The incident briefly disrupted commercial activities in the busy Balogun market, with shops shutting their doors before business resumed on Thursday.

While rumours of ethnic tension trailed the clash on social media, the Lagos State Police Command dismissed such claims.

The police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, said, “During the fight, one Ebuka Adindu from Abia State stabbed one Sodiq Ibrahim from Kogi State to death.

“The said Adindu in turn stabbed himself on the shoulder and became unconscious. He is currently under arrest in the hospital, where he is being treated. Investigation into the matter will be concluded, and he will be prosecuted after he has been discharged.”

Findings by PUNCH Metro on Thursday revealed that both men were members of a group known as Oso Ahia, loosely translated from Igbo as “market hustlers.”

Their role, our correspondent gathered, is to bring customers from outside into shops in exchange for a commission.

Trouble, however, began on Wednesday after a shop owner handed over N8,000 to be shared between the two.

A trader in the market, Funmi Arewa, confirmed this version of events to our correspondents on Thursday.

“It was just two hustlers who usually bring customers to shop owners for commission,” she said.

“Both of them happened to bring the same customer, and the shop owner gave them N8,000 to share. That’s where the problem started.

Findings by PUNCH Metro on Thursday revealed that both men were members of a group known as Oso Ahia, loosely translated from Igbo as “market hustlers.”

“They began arguing over how to split the money, and in the middle of the fight, one of them stabbed the other. He probably didn’t mean to kill him, but sadly, the boy bled to death.”

Another trader, identified simply as Moshood, corroborated Arewa’s account. He dismissed suggestions that the clash was linked to tribal rivalry.


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The police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, said, “During the fight, one Ebuka Adindu from Abia State stabbed one Sodiq Ibrahim from Kogi State to death.

“The said Adindu in turn stabbed himself on the shoulder and became unconscious. He is currently under arrest in the hospital, where he is being treated. Investigation into the matter will be concluded, and he will be prosecuted after he has been discharged.”

Findings by PUNCH Metro on Thursday revealed that both men were members of a group known as Oso Ahia, loosely translated from Igbo as “market hustlers.”

Their role, our correspondent gathered, is to bring customers from outside into shops in exchange for a commission.

Trouble, however, began on Wednesday after a shop owner handed over N8,000 to be shared between the two.

A trader in the market, Funmi Arewa, confirmed this version of events to our correspondents on Thursday.

“It was just two hustlers who usually bring customers to shop owners for commission,” she said.

“Both of them happened to bring the same customer, and the shop owner gave them N8,000 to share. That’s where the problem started.

“They began arguing over how to split the money, and in the middle of the fight, one of them stabbed the other. He probably didn’t mean to kill him, but sadly, the boy bled to death.”

Another trader, identified simply as Moshood, corroborated Arewa’s account. He dismissed suggestions that the clash was linked to tribal rivalry.

He said, “The fight started and ended with the Oso Ahia boys over the sharing of the commission.

“Some traders have now decided that the Oso Ahia boys should no longer be welcomed in this market. As you can see, there is no problem today.

“Everything has gone back to normal. There’s no tribal issue here. It was money that led to the dispute.”

Another trader, Abiola Shittu, further clarified that the temporary closure of shops on Thursday morning was due to the routine sanitation exercise, not the violence.

Shittu said, “It was the money that a customer gave them that led to the fight. What these guys do is take customers round the market, and in return, the customer tips them.

The commission caused the argument, and they started stabbing themselves. Sadly, it was the Yoruba boy who died from the wound.”

Another trader, who identified himself only as Chigozie, also confirmed to PUNCH Metro that the fight between Ibrahim and Adindu stemmed from a money dispute, not an ethnic clash as was being circulated on social media.

According to him, the altercation escalated quickly. “The deceased stabbed the guy first with a bottle and ran away thinking he couldn’t catch him.

“Then the guy immediately pursued him with a knife and did the same to him, which led to him bleeding and later dying,” Chigozie recounted.

Traders at the market told PUNCH Metro that Wednesday’s tragedy was the first violent incident in recent years in the market.

According to him, the altercation escalated quickly. “The deceased stabbed the guy first with a bottle and ran away thinking he couldn’t catch him.

“Then the guy immediately pursued him with a knife and did the same to him, which led to him bleeding and later dying,” Chigozie recounted.

BigDickProblems:
”The said Adindu in turn stabbed himself on the shoulder and became unconscious”.

I hear you

franudi:
The truth is that the Yoruba guy stabbed the Igbo boy first.

franudi:
this is a lie. Adindu cannot stab himself. This is a prove that the Yoruba boy stabbed the Adindu first. Truth is very scarce in Nigeria.

FILEBE:
Rest in peace to the dead.

We all can see how tribal people decided to paint the event and hence the tension? We all can see what Tribalism could cause. If this wasn't done in broad day light, we would have been quick to assume and start fighting one another .

Stop Bogotry and Tribalism. It doesn't get us anywhere

SoftskillsAT:
Just imagine people using their life because of 8,000 naira 8,000 naira , we don't really value life in this country

chopnaira:
So far over 8 people of kpaid over thr issue. Their was retaliation

SoftskillsAT:
Just imagine people using their life because of 8,000 naira 8,000 naira , we don't really value life in this country

Brendaniel:
Just kindly take our time and read the entire story again and see how Nigeria as a whole has descended so low with tribal profiling and witch hunt, the first time I read this story I knew a whole lot of things in the story were not adding up and I saw tribal profiling in the entire article:

1. Why woould you start a story with an Igbo trader and a Yoruba trader, was that necessary?

2. Why would you add the states where they come from, was that also necessary?

3. Imagine a whole police PRO telling bold faced lies with ethnic profiling and saying that the Igbo guy stabbed the Yoruba guy and then stabbed himself?

I said to myself that it doesn't add up, so 2 people were fighting and one stabbed the other and then decided to stab himself? I knew something was off and this has proved my point:



So you see the police in Lagos is playing ethnic card against the Igbo guy and they just want to charge him pure murder and not self defense just because he is Igbo, this is the level of damage Tinubu has done in Nigeria where tribe matters more in a crime committed than the crime itself

Brendaniel:
Just kindly take our time and read the entire story again and see how Nigeria as a whole has descended so low with tribal profiling and witch hunt, the first time I read this story I knew a whole lot of things in the story were not adding up and I saw tribal profiling in the entire article:

1. Why woould you start a story with an Igbo trader and a Yoruba trader, was that necessary?

2. Why would you add the states where they come from, was that also necessary?

3. Imagine a whole police PRO telling bold faced lies with ethnic profiling and saying that the Igbo guy stabbed the Yoruba guy and then stabbed himself?

I said to myself that it doesn't add up, so 2 people were fighting and one stabbed the other and then decided to stab himself? I knew something was off and this has proved my point:



So you see the police in Lagos is playing ethnic card against the Igbo guy and they just want to charge him pure murder and not self defense just because he is Igbo, this is the level of damage Tinubu has done in Nigeria where tribe matters more in a crime committed than the crime itself