Metro

Soldier Stabs Trader To Death Over N100

Published

3 years ago

February 10, 2023

A yet-to-be-identified soldier has allegedly stabbed a ticket agent, Ibrahim Ikudaisi, aka Guardian, to death over N100 ticket in the Oshodi area of Lagos State.

It was gathered that Ikudaisi was visiting stores to demand N100 levy from different traders in a market in Oshodi when one of the traders refused to pay him.

The trader’s refusal to oblige to Ikudaisi’s request reportedly led to an argument and in the process, the soldier intervened to prevent the ticket agent from collecting the money from the trader.

It was learnt that the argument degenerated and in the process, the soldier brought out a knife and allegedly stabbed Ikudaisi in the chest.

An eyewitness, Adenike Ajayi, who spoke to our correspondent during a visit to the scene of the attack, said the impact of the attack made Ikudaisi fall to the ground, adding that the soldier took to his heels upon realising that the ticket agent had lost consciousness.

Ajayi said, “Ikudaisi is a popular person in this part of Oshodi. Everybody knows him and his nickname is ‘Guardian’. He is the one that collects daily ticket levies from all of us that are traders here.

“He was here yesterday (Tuesday) around 11am and we had all collected our daily tickets from him when he got into an argument with a lady who refused to pay for the ticket.

“As they were arguing, a soldier came and tried to force Ikudaisi to not let the lady pay for the daily N100 ticket. Suddenly, it got to a point that the soldier brought out his knife and stabbed Ikudaisi in the chest.”

Ajayi said the soldier fled to the Cantonment at Charity, where other soldiers came to his rescue, adding that Ikudaisi died due to the injuries he sustained during the attack.

“He was buried at his family compound in Lagos Island this morning. Army officers were around this place in the morning and they told us that they have arrested the soldier but we did not believe them because nobody was there to witness the arrest,” the trader said.

Another trader, Adeniji Olawole, told our correspondent that efforts by people in the market to apprehend the soldier proved abortive, adding that security agents were fond of perpetrating such injustice against the people in the market.

He said, “Though I was not around when the argument between Ikudaisi and the soldier started, I saw him after he was stabbed and lying in a pool of blood. Many people came out to help him while some others pursued the soldier when he ran away.

“Unfortunately, he was not caught because he ran into the cantonment and soldiers prevented those who ran after him from getting to him. In this Oshodi, police and army just beat and kill people for small matters that anger them. They should understand that we are also Nigerians like them. The death of Ikudaisi is a needless one. The soldier just wasted a precious life.”

An officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, who preferred to remain anonymous for security reasons, told our correspondent that when Ikudaisi was stabbed, some of his friends rushed him to the hospital as he gasped for breath.

Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said, “I am not aware of this situation; I will contact you as soon as any information concerning this matter is available to me.”

Reacting to the development, the Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Olabisi Ayeni, said the army was not aware of the matter, adding that an investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident had commenced.

He said, “I am not aware of the incident. It was an attack by hoodlums on the soldier. Efforts are ongoing to further unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident.

“However, hope you are aware that troops of the 9 Brigade Nigerian Army recently raided the Oshodi area where over 116 suspected hoodlums were arrested. Items recovered include locally-made pistols, local charms, Indian hemp and tramadol, amongst others.”

However, cases of civilians including policemen losing their lives to attacks by soldiers have become common in the state.

Sometime in August 2022, an Inspector serving with the Lagos State Police Command, Orukpe Monday, was reportedly tortured to death by soldiers in the Trade Fair area of the state.

Also, at Ogombo, in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state, a civilian was killed when a man, Richard Ekpo, engaged the services of soldiers to stop the burial of his late father sometime in November 2022.

Reacting, a lawyer, Todimu Ige, said it was the duty of soldiers to safeguard the territory of the country, adding that the reverse was the case in Nigeria.

He said, “The right to life is enshrined in the Nigerian constitution and it is only the court that has the right to terminate the life of an individual. A person (Ikudaisi) has been murdered and the police should investigate it and bring the culprit to face the law.

“The duty of the military is to safeguard the territorial integrity of the nation and there should not be any reason for a civilian to have anything to do with a soldier. But what we are seeing is the opposite in Nigeria.”
PUNCH

Metro

Fake Madman Arrested For Cultivating Cannabis Farm In Anambra

Published

13 minutes ago

September 18, 2025

Editor

The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 43-year-old man, Patrick Ojele, for allegedly disguising himself as a mentally unstable person while secretly cultivating a cannabis farm in Awka, the state capital.

The Spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, Tochukwu Ikenga, stated in a press release on Thursday that operatives attached to the operations department arrested the suspect during a patrol along the Awka–Enugu Expressway, near Ngozika Estate, on Wednesday.

The statement read in part, “The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 43-year-old man, Patrick Ojele, who pretended to be mentally unstable while secretly cultivating a marijuana farm in Awka, the state capital.

“The police operatives attached to the Operations Department, Awka, nabbed the suspect on September 17, 2025, during a routine patrol along the Awka–Enugu Expressway near Ngozika Estate.

“He later led the team to the hidden farm, where large quantities of weeds suspected to be cannabis sativa were recovered.

“The Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, noted that the arrest reflects the Command’s renewed strategy of cutting off criminal supplies by targeting drug dealers who embolden cultists and violent offenders.”

According to him, the CP further directed that the suspect should be handed over to the Special Anti-Cultism Squad, Enugwu-Ukwu, for discreet investigation to trace his buyers and dismantle the wider distribution network.

The PUNCH had reported that the police command has arrested no fewer than 54 suspects, comprising 39 males and 15 females, for various offences ranging from kidnapping, cultism, hard drugs and banned substances.

Ikenga said the arrests were followed by coordinated raids by police operatives in Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area, and Ifitedunu, Dunukofia LGA, in separate raid operations.

According to him, the coordinated operations were in line with renewed strategies aimed at restoring sanity in the state and curbing the growing menace of crime among young people between 18 and 26 years.

Metro

JUST IN: 6 More Deaths Confirmed In Afriland Towers Fire

Published

5 hours ago

September 18, 2025

Editor

The death toll from the tragic fire at Afriland Towers Fire on Broad Street, Lagos Island, has climbed to 10, following confirmation that six employees of United Capital Plc died in the inferno.

LEADERSHIP reports that the six-storey commercial building was engulfed in flames on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, after a fire reportedly broke out in the inverter room located in the basement around 1:30 p.m. Thick smoke filled the building, sending panic among occupants, with some seen attempting desperate escapes through windows using a ladder as emergency responders battled the blaze.

United Capital, a financial and investment services firm that occupied the 3rd and 4th floors of the building, announced the deaths of six of its staff members in a statement released Thursday morning.

“It is with profound grief that the Management and Staff of United Capital Plc announce the passing of six of our dear colleagues, following the tragic fire at Afriland Towers on Tuesday, September 16, 2025.

“Our departed colleagues were an integral part of our company and family. Their painful loss leaves an immeasurable void. We extend our deepest and heartfelt condolences to their families, friends, and loved ones, and we continue to hold them in our thoughts and prayers, as well as provide all the support we can to them during this most difficult time.

“We are making preparations for an appropriate memorial service to honour their lives and mark their passing with dignity and solemnity. We thank the emergency services and all those who responded for their valiant assistance at the time of the incident.

“In this moment of untold grief, we stand together in solidarity, drawing strength from one another as we navigate this period. May the souls of the departed rest in peace.”

This latest confirmation came just hours after the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) disclosed that four of its senior staff also died in the incident, bringing the total number of confirmed fatalities to 10.

Emergency responders, including officials of the Federal Fire Service and the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, rescued at least nine people during the operation. Five were successfully revived, while four remained unconscious.

The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service said in a statement on Tuesday, “A total of nine victims have been rescued. Five individuals have been resuscitated. Several others escaped unhurt, while efforts are ongoing to revive the remaining four.”

Although emergency agencies were yet to release an official casualty figure, eyewitnesses and company insiders had earlier claimed that “not everyone made it out alive.”

Attempts to reach the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the National Emergency Management Agency, and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency for an update were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.

Metro

Teacher Bags 14 Years Imprisonment For Sexually Abusing Seven-yr-old

Published

17 hours ago

September 17, 2025

Editor

Lady-justice
Justice Rahman Oshodi of a Lagos Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a 61-year-old teacher, Igwe Ngozi, to 14 years imprisonment for sexual assault of a seven-year-old child.

The judge sentenced and convicted Ngozi after finding him guilty as he pleaded to an amended one-count charge brought against him by the state government.

The charge bordered on sexual assault by penetration.

The prosecution alleged that the defendant, on or about February 2019 at Linsey Nursery and Primary School at Igbo-Efon Alpha Beach Road, Lekki, Lagos, attempted to assault a seven-year-old girl by penetrating her vagina with his finger.

His offence is contrary to the provision of Section 262 C.17, Vol. 3 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
However, Ngozi was initially charged with one count of sexual assault by penetration, which is punishable by life imprisonment, but approached the prosecution for a plea bargain.

He had pleaded not guilty to the charge when he was initially arraigned sometime in February 2019.

The victim’s mother (PW1) testified that the incident occurred one day when she observed that her daughter’s pants were messy and that she had been complaining of lower abdominal pain.

She told the court that her daughter said her class teacher had been inserting his finger into her vagina, and that each time he did that, she became scared and sometimes screamed.

The state counsel, S.O. Dada, informed the court on June 16, 2025, and filed on June 19, 2025, that Ngozi had agreed to a plea bargain agreement, which necessitated the amended charge of attempted sexual assault by penetration.

He was therefore re-arraigned on July 17, 2025, and he pleaded guilty.

While delivering judgment yesterday, Justice Oshodi held that he was satisfied that the convict was competent to enter the plea bargain agreement.

The judge held that, “The first charge is punishable by life imprisonment. However, through the plea bargain process, you have pleaded guilty to this lesser charge, and I am bound to sentence you according to the agreed terms.”

“As a class teacher, you were supposed to protect the child, but unfortunately abused a seven-year-old child, causing physiological trauma to the victim.”

“Igwe Ngozi, I have considered your breach of trust as a teacher and the trauma inflicted upon her; I find the maximum sentence appropriate.”

The court therefore found him guilty as charged and sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment. The court ordered that the sentence should begin from the date he was remanded in custody.

The judge also held that the convict should be registered as a sex offender in furtherance of Sections 33 and 38 of the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Law of Lagos State 2021, and also serve his sentence in the place he has been held during his trial.