A 35-year-old man, Ejike Onyejekwe, has been killed in the FESTAC Town area of Lagos State.It was learnt
that the victim, who lived on 21 Road, K Close, FESTAC, was stabbed to
death after winning a lot of money from a lottery.
Our correspondent gathered that Onyejekwe, to celebrate the
winning, bought drinks for his friends and threw a party last Thursday
and Friday.
It was learnt that on Friday evening, he was heard arguing with an unidentified person on the phone.
He allegedly told his friend he was going to see the man, but never
returned.His corpse was allegedly discovered the next day on one of the
estates.
A resident, who did not want to be identified, said the chairman of
the estate called the attention of residents to the corpse on Saturday.
He said, “I was sipping tea around 7am when I heard the chairman
blowing a whistle. I thought it was strange, but my wife called my
attention to the surging crowd on the estate.
“I went downstairs and saw the corpse on the road. Like everybody, I
was alarmed. We could not tell how the corpse got there or who he was.
He had multiple stab injuries in the head. We all resolved that the case
should be reported at the FESTAC Police Station.”
It was learnt that some of the victim’s friends later identified
him.The corpse was said to have been deposited in a morgue, while the
police arrested and detained the chairman of the estate and his
secretary; they were later released.
A source said that the victim won a lottery few days to
his death.He said, “The man won a lot of money in a lottery and from
last Thursday to Friday, he was asking his friends to drink at his
expense.
“He was called on the phone that Friday evening and he went to meet
a man. I suspect that a gang stabbed him and used an object to hit him
in the head. There were bruises on his knees and it appeared they
dragged him on the floor as well.
“When the police were removing his corpse, blood was dripping from his mouth and nostrils. He was murdered in cold blood.”
A friend of the victim, who did not identify himself, said his
relative had visited the community.“I can’t say why he was killed.
Nobody knows. He just returned from a visit to the village,” he added.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed
the incident, adding that the case had been transferred to the State
Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba.She added that
the police had already arrested two suspects in connection with the
death.
She said, “The chairman of one of the estates reported that at
about 7am, he woke up and saw the victim lying lifeless with injuries on
his head and body. The corpse was deposited at the Isolo General
Hospital Mortuary for autopsy. Two suspects, Suleiman Ahmed and Ibrahim
Yusuf, were arrested and the case transferred to the SCIID for further
investigation.”