28Years Old Trader Kills Friend Over N5000 Electricity Bill

Late friend

A 28-year-old trader, Chukwuebuka Okeke, has
allegedly killed his friend and roommate,
Nwabuike Ezeike, 39, after a disagreement over a
N5,000 electricity bill. Punch Metro learnt that
the incident happened on Tuesday on Tokosi
Street, Orile-Iganmu.
One of their correspondents gathered that the
friends, who were traders on the Lagos Island,
had been together for a long time. They were
also said to have contributed money for the rent
of the single-room apartment.
The men, who hail from the same Ishida
community, in the Anocha Local Government
Area of Anambra State, however, had a
disagreement over their electricity bill.
A relative of the deceased, Ben Eze, said the
deceased had paid the suspect some money as
his contribution towards the bill.
He said, ''But his friend squandered the money.
So, as the payment became overdue and
pressure was mounted on him to release the
money, he passed on the aggression to the
deceased and there was a fight. He was actually
asleep when he attacked him.
''People had separated them when he suddenly
punched him in the head. He was rushed to the
hospital where he was pronounced dead.''
It was learnt that the case was reported at the
Orile Police Division and the suspect was
arrested. The matter was later transferred to the
State Department of Criminal Investigation, while
the corpse of the victim was deposited at the
Lagos Mainland mortuary.
Another relative, Charles Anolue, said the victim
was supposed to have his engagement
ceremony later this month before he was killed.
He said the family was pained that despite the
death, the family of the suspect had not shown
any sign of remorse over the incident.
''We are grieved and despite our loss, we
would have resolved this case because we are
from the same community. But the suspect's
family have been playing games which we don’t
understand, and that is why we are ready to
pursue this case to a logical end.'' He added.
Lawyer for the deceased's family, F.S. Oladele,
urged the police to dig up all the evidence of the
case.
However, the elder brother of the suspect,
Emeka Okeke, explained that his family was not
happy over the incident and efforts by
community leaders to wade in had been
frustrated by the deceased’s family.
''These two men have been friends for a long
time and they are both traders. What happened
between them was unfortunate and I know
Chukwuebuka had no intention of killing his
friend.'' He added.
Counsel for the suspect, Spurgeon Ataene,
denied that the 28-year-old killed the victim. He
said, 'It was the deceased that attacked first
and my client dodged his blow. It was the force
with which he attempted to punch my client that
made him crash into a wall, thereby killing
himself.''
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joe
Offor, confirmed incident, adding that
investigation was on at the SDCI.