Chiemelie Ezeobi
There was palpable tension at College Bus Stop in Igando area of Lagos monday when a noodles seller, simply identified as Mallam Adamu, allegedly killed a bus driver, Lekan Adeleke, popularly known as Starboy.
Given the ethnic implications of the incident, the Area M Police Command and the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) were quickly deployed in the area to douse the tension and prevent it from scaling into a war between the two ethnic groups.
It was gathered that Adamu used a plank with nails on it to hit Adeleke on the head following a disagreement over N30.
Meanwhile, the deceased’s family has appealed that his body be released to them so that he can be buried in accordance with Islamic rites
According to an eyewitness, Kehinde Akinduro, who said he was eating noodlesat Adamu’s snack bar when the trouble started, the suspect went berserk after the deceased paid his son N200 instead of N230.
He said Adeleke, after eating noodles and egg, was told his bill was N230, being a regular customer, he handed over the N200 he had on him and told the seller he would pay N30 in few minutes time.
Akinduro said: “The boy then told his father that Adeleke paid N200 and promised to come back with N30 shortly but his father ran after Adeleke.
“People who saw him running after Adeleke to the other side of the road, told him to calm down that Adeleke would not go away with his money.
“About five later, Adeleke brought the N30 and asked the boy if it was because of N30 they wanted to embarrass him.
“He was not happy, and also asked the boy that even if he didn’t have money, that can’t they give him food and pay when he had money?
“As Adeleke was inside the container talking to the son, Adamu just entered with a plank he was holding and hit him on his side.
“So, Adeleke turned around to know what happened and when he saw it was Adamu, he struggled to take the plank from him but he couldn’t.
“I was still eating. I left my food and went inside to stop Adamu but he used the same plank to beat me three times. My hands and legs are still swollen. I fell on the ground and I was weak.
“After the struggle, Adeleke ran outside. As a peaceful man, he was going to cross the expressway when Adamu chased him again.
“He didn’t know Adamu was coming behind him. That was how Adamu used the plank and hit him on the head again. The nail on the plank burst Adeleke’s head and he fell on the ground.”
The source continued: “When I saw what had happened, I called our other guys who were on the other side to come. People who were eating gathered and told Adamu to take him to the hospital, but he was busy pouring water on his head.
“But when he saw that our colleagues were coming, Adamu and his son fled. Others started chasing him but he used allegedly use ‘charms’ to distract the people, so we therefore called our chairman who called the police.
“I chased him too and found him inside a gutter at Ikotun road. He was hiding under a slab and refused to come out until the police came.” Another driver who gave his name as Eniola described Adamu as a very violent man, adding that he chased a customer with a cutlass two months ago.
According to Eniola, Adamu’s ear was chopped off some years back at Igando because he stabbed somebody to death. According to Eniola, “Youths in the area burnt down Adamu’s shop. We have destroyed the container and burnt it. Even his charms, we have removed all the ones we saw.”
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, who confirmed the incident said they were on top of the situation.
