Babatunde Omoyeni, a web designer who planned to spend his Christmas and
New Year celebrations in the United States of America, has been killed
in Lagos over N50. He was to travel on December 10.
After obtaining all travel documents, the 38yrs old big boy went
clubbing with his friends on Saturday. He was returning when he had a
disagreement with a bus conductor over the N50 fare and was stabbed to
death.
His girlfriend, Temiloluwa Ogundayo, said he recently informed her to prepare for their engagement.
According to Punch, a police source said angry residents almost lynched
the conductor, who was identified as Samson Eletu. He was saved by a
community leader, who took him to the Aguda Police station.
The source said, "The victim was returning home after a party when he
entered the bus. He gave the conductor N500, but the conductor told him
he didn’t have N450 change, because the fare was N50.
“When they got to the bus stop, the man demanded his change and that
started a fight. An Alfa in the bus intervened and separated them.
But the conductor, who was still aggrieved, trailed the victim to his house.”
It was learnt that Eletu, while armed with a broken bottle, banged on the gate into the house.
“
As the deceased opened the gate, Eletu
stabbed him. Babatunde took to his heels, but the conductor chased him.
Unfortunately, he fell down and the conductor stabbed him repeatedly,” he added.
It was learnt that Eletu was fleeing from the scene when he was nabbed
by a suspicious resident who saw blood stains on his clothes.
The younger sister of the victim, Blessing Omoyeni, said his brother
would not have died if he was rescued on time. She said he spent over
one hour in a pool of blood before he was rushed to the Lagos University
Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba.
She said, “Nobody was ready to assist him to the hospital. A man had to
throw himself in front of a commercial bus and asked the passengers to
disembark, before he could get help.
“He was rushed to LUTH, but they were turned back at the gate by a
doctor who pronounced him dead on arrival around 12am. People started
beating the conductor and almost killed him before he was rescued and
taken to the Aguda Police Division.”
It was learnt that the victim’s corpse was deposited at the Isolo General Hospital mortuary.
His girlfriend, who lived with Babatunde, said she was not aware that he had been killed until the early hours of Sunday.
“We have dated for over one year and he told me to meet my sister to ask
for the requirement for our engagement. He said we would go there on
Monday.
“
On that Saturday morning before he went
to work, we made love. He called me around 5pm to prepare food for him
that he would soon be home. I had done everything and was waiting for him in the house till 11pm when I drifted off into sleep.
“Around 1am, he came in and slept beside me. He rubbed my head with his
hand and I asked him if he had eaten his food, but he said I should not
bother, that he was fine.
“I went back to sleep and
it was around
6am that somebody called me and asked if I knew he was dead. I jumped up
and looked around the bathroom and kitchen to know if he was there, but
I couldn’t find him.”
The victim’s friend, Ogunyemi Olaribigbe, described him as quiet and
gentle, adding that his death was a big blow to all who knew him.
 |
| Samson Eletu. |
In his confession, 32-year-old Eletu said the victim attacked him first.
He said, “I am also a driver and I had parked my bus at about 7pm when I
saw a co-driver who offered to take me home. It was along the way that
he decided to pick passengers and there were eight of them in the bus.
“I collected money from seven of them, but he refused to pay and said he knew me on the street.
“It was at the bus stop that he broke a bottle and stabbed me in the
forehead and cheek. I also got the same bottle, but unfortunately I
stabbed him in the neck and he died.”
