Oladeji Hamzat, who is an Abuja-based computer engineer, has been detained by the Ogun state police for stabbing his friend whose name is Bayo, to death following a dispute that happened between them at a drinking bar – Hummes – in Agbado, in the Ifo Local Government Area of the state.
The clash between the two friends happened after Hamzat who had arrived late at the drinking bar for the birthday party of a friend called Owoseni was confronted by Bayo for greeting friends he met at the drinking bar one after the other and didn’t regard him the way he regarded others.
Bayo was stabbed in the neck during the clash and was rushed to three different hospitals before he gave up the ghost at the Ifako-Ijaiye General Hospital, Lagos.
An eyewitness who was there when the incident happened, told a Punch Correspondent;
“Bayo and other friends were at the bar when Hamzat arrived. He (Hamzat) greeted other friends. While the birthday celebration was on, Bayo challenged him that he shunned him when he arrived at the bar. That led to the disagreement and he stabbed Bayo with a broken bottle. Their relatives said they were childhood friends”.
One of the workers at the drinking bar who has confirmed the incident said Hamzat wanted to run away after he stabbed his friend Bayo, but he was caught.
“I was taking wine to the barman from the store when I heard the sound of a bottle being smashed. By the time I got to the bar hall, he (Hamzat) was running away as fast as he could. One of our security men and some people intercepted him at the gate and dragged him inside.
“They (Hamzat and Bayo) were at the same table with their friends. The deceased was even the one who bought the roasted meat they ate” he said.
The computer engineer who made a confession to stabbing his friend Bayo during their clash told newsmen,
“I am a computer engineer and work in Abuja. I arrived here (Ogun State) on Thursday to visit my parents who live in Adiyan, in the Ifo LGA, and I lodged in a hotel at Agbado. On Friday, I attended Owoseni’s birthday. He (Bayo) came to where I was sitting and asked me where I had been all the while. I could not remember where I knew him.
“He came to meet me again and his friends cautioned him and said that was how he misbehaved whenever he was drunk. It was like he was looking for trouble. He confronted me again, smashed a bottle and attempted to stab me. I used my hand to block him and I started bleeding in the hand. I rushed outside with the blood. People started to beat me up. That is all I know. I do not know how he was stabbed in the neck.”
ASP Abimbola Oyeyemi, Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, who had confirmed the arrest of the murder suspect, revealed that the case had been taken to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for additional investigation and prosecution.
