Man Kills Friend Over Stolen Block Pallet

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

 
For residents of Iju Atan in Ado-odo, Ota  area of Ogun State, January 19, 2019, will for a long time be remembered as  a sad day as a member of the community, Isaac Enefiok Atom, popularly known as Capone, was gunned down in front of his apartment at Phase 1, Ajibogun Idialu Street, Iju Ota, by an unknown gunman who was later discovered to be the deceased’s close friend.

P.M.EXPRESS reliably gathered from Capone’s neighbour that the deceased was in his room on the faithful night when he received a knock on the door. On opening the door, he was heard shouting repeatedly “Lucky, what do you want?”
He said that unfortunately the next sound heard was that of gunshot; the deceased was shot in the stomach at close range.
“The sound of the gunshot attracted the neighbours’ attention and they tried chasing after the man but he escaped” Terry G narrated.
Another neighbour who pleaded anonymity said, “One man in black suit came to the compound to ask after Capone and I showed him the room after he introduced himself as a friend”.
Investigation later revealed that the suspect, Lucky, who was a good friend of the deceased shot him to death.
According to a reliable source, Akpan Udo, the suspect, Lucky, was alleged to have stolen some block pallets which he sold to one Baba Ibadan for N500,000. Baba Ibadan was said to have paid him N300,000 and the following day Lucky went to Baba Ibadan for his N200,000 balance.
Meanwhile, Capone, who was a contractor, overheard Lucky and Baba Ibadan’s conversation. He was said to have interrupted and told Baba Ibadan that he had just bought stolen goods as Capone claimed to have known the original owner of the pallets.
It was gathered that Capone and Lucky had another argument after that where he allegedly told Capone, “I am the one that will kill you last last”.
A search was conducted  to fish out the suspect but he was nowhere to be found until his brother, Nicholas, was arrested and he disclosed where and when to get the suspected killer. He  was arrested at about 3am the next day and handed over to Police at Iju Divisional Police Station for interrogation.
Meanwhile, the deceased, who was earlier rushed to the General Hospital at Onipanu, was declared dead on arrival and his corpse deposited at the morgue by his sister, who is seeking justice from the government.
The case has, however, been transferred to the Police Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, Ogun State, where the accused has confessed to the crime.
Efforts to speak with the Ogun State, Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent of Police, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, on the incident was unsuccessful as at the time of filing this report as he is yet to respond to text messages requesting update on the development.