20-year-old ‘killed’ hawker for N50’

 Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

KWARA State Magistrate Court sitting in Ilorin, the state capital, has remanded a 20-year-old farmer, Abubakar Mohammedu in prison custody for ‘killing’ a medicine hawker, one Olalekan Oladapo, at in the Offa motor park area of the town.

The defendant was said to have killed Oladapo after failing to pay N50 for the medication he bought from him.

He was arraigned for culpable homicide contrary to sections 221 of the penal code.

The police First Information Report stated that one Chanbani John Gabriel of Owonifari house, Ajasse Ipo, reported the matter at the police station after receiving the news that the deceased had been attacked.

The complainant, who went to the scene of the attack with some other persons, reportedly found the deceased in a pool of blood, in the bush, with multiple injuries allegedly caused by machete attacks

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Oladapo was said to have been pronounced dead by a medical doctor at a nearby hospital where he was rushed to by the complainant.

Investigation from the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department of the state police command led to the arrest of the defendant.

According to the FIR, Mohammedu confessed that he met the deceased hawking drugs on a motorcycle and requested for a medication to cure his headache.

After taking the medication, the defendant was said to have started  feeling awkward, a development that caused him to walk away instead of paying for what he bought.

When the medicine hawker demanded his N50, the defendant started a fight, which led to the itinerant seller’s death.

Prosecutor Sanni Abdullah urged the court to remand the defendant on the basis that the offence against him is not admissible for bail.

He added that the offence is capital in nature and that the defendant should not be admitted to bail as a way of preventing him from committing a similar crime.

In his short ruling, Magistrate Omotayo Shittu ordered the remand of the defendant in Oke-Kura prison.

The case continues on  November 25.