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Crime & Punishment of Saturday, 29 February 2020

Source: www.mynigeria.com

Man bleeds to death after hotel worker stabbed him over N1,200

The suspect is currently in police custody The suspect is currently in police custody

A 25-year-old hotel guest has reportedly bled to death after being stabbed by a hotel worker over the sum of N1,200 at a makeshift inn in Whitesand, Ijora-Badia area of Lagos State.

The suspect, known as Emmanuel Ben,21, was said to have been involved in a scuffle with the deceased, identified as White London.

According to reports from the Punch, the deceased had come into the inn around 11am on February 8 with his lover and refused to pay after using a room for about an hour which cost N1,200.

An argument broke out between both of them and in the process, Emmanuel, who had a knife on him at that time, reportedly stabbed White London in the stomach.

Punch reported that the guest bled to death and the suspect has since been in the custody of the police.

A resident of the area, who identified himself simply as George, said the incident caused a commotion in the neighbourhood and a distress call was put across to the police from the Ijora Division.

He said White London bled to death at the spot before policemen from the Ijora Division arrived at the scene.

“Many people were woken up by the uproar from the scene. I didn’t come out because it was too late and I would not want to be caught up in the fracas. I peeped outside from my window and I could hear, ‘oti ku’ (He is dead). Some minutes later, some policemen arrived in their van.

“It was the following morning I knew what led to the fight. I learnt the man (White London) came to the inn with his girlfriend and when they were done, he refused to pay for the service. The attendant charged him N1, 200 but he was not willing to pay. He (Ben) stabbed him while they were fighting.”

But a resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said White London was haggling with Ben over the bill when the fight ensued.

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“It was not as if the man did not want to pay for the service but he wanted to have a cut from the N1, 200 the attendant demanded. The attendant declined and that was when the argument started.

“Immediately the incident happened, the attendant wanted to flee but he was held by some vigilance men who handed him over to the police. The deceased was not a resident there but many people knew him as White London,” the resident recalled, adding that the hotel had been shut.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Bala Elkana, who confirmed the incident, stated that the corpse had been deposited at the Mainland General Hospital morgue for an autopsy.

He said, “At attendant at a hotel in a shanty in White Sand, Ijora-Badia, stabbed a guest popularly known as White London to death with a knife. The misunderstanding was caused by non-payment of N1, 200 lodging fee by the deceased whose real name is still unknown.

“The police have arrested the suspect and the knife reportedly used for the crime was recovered at the scene. Investigation is ongoing.”

PUNCH