Tragic!! Lagos Food Vendor Kills Man Over N50 Bread
A 28-year-old man, Ajayi Peters, aka Ajana, has
been stabbed to death in the Yaba area of Lagos
State after a disagreement over N50 loaf of
bread.
PUNCH Metro learnt from residents that Peters was
killed by a bread vendor, identified simply as Yinka,
aka Buredi.
Our correspondents gathered that Peters had tried to
prevail on Yinka after he refused to sell a loaf to one
of his customers on credit.
It was learnt that there was an argument between the
men and in the ensuing scuffle, Peters grabbed a
knife and stabbed the deceased in the head.
He was said to have died in a private hospital.
The incident happened at a roundabout on Church
Street, Makoko, Yaba, where Yinka sold bread on a
slab.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
told PUNCH Metro the fight began around 11pm on
Tuesday.
He said, “The incident happened on Tuesday, June 16,
around 11pm. The man that died was collecting fees
from traders. He and Buredi (Yinka) had been having
issues because Ajana (Peters) and some members of
his group sometimes threw away his goods
whenever they had problems with him.
“But on that day, a man had approached him to buy
N50 loaf of bread on credit. The bread seller started
shouting at the customer that he should not come
near his bread because he was not ready to sell on
credit.
“At a point, Buredi said, ‘No powerful man on this
street can take the loaf from me and give you.’”
It was learnt that the deceased, who felt insulted by
the veiled reference to him, asked the suspect to give
the customer the loaf.
This was said to have aggravated the case as both
men took turns to insult each other.
Another resident, who did not identify himself, said
Peters pushed the suspect.
“The bread seller fell to the ground. In anger, he
picked a knife and stabbed Ajana in the head. He
started bleeding.
“But not realising the seriousness of the injuries,
Ajana began to look for a weapon with which to
attack back,” the resident added.
It was learnt that the suspect fled the scene, while
Peters walked down to a private hospital on the
street.
PUNCH Metro was told that a doctor attended to him
and stitched the wound.
A woman, who was reportedly close to the victim,
said, “But the injury was deeper than we thought. He
died from the injuries around 4am.”
Our correspondents learnt that the bread vendor,
who was unaware of the development, was tricked by
some people in the community to come for a truce
meeting.
A resident, Solomon Ojo, said, “The bread seller did
not know Ajana had died. He thought he was only
injured and had treated himself.
“When he was called in the morning for a truce
meeting, he was surrounded by some youths in the
area who wanted to kill him. But some community
leaders prevailed on them to hand him over to the
police.”
The suspect was said to have been arrested by
policemen from the Adekunle division, while the
corpse of the deceased was deposited in a mortuary.
A source in the area told PUNCH Metro the suspect
did not mean to kill the deceased.
He said the bread vendor had always been harassed
by hoodlums in the community, adding that it was
unfortunate Peters died from the attack.
He said, “The problem started during the elections
when they discovered he was supporting a rival
political party. They harassed him and damaged his
goods at that time.
“Whenever they saw him plying his trade, they
harassed him. What happened that day was just
unfortunate. The man only acted in self defence.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, Kenneth Nwosu,
confirmed the incident.
He said the matter had been transferred to the State
Department of Criminal Investigation for further
investigation.
