According to Punch, Nyagh Isaiah allegedly killed his colleague, Kingsley Kato, during a fight at a hotel on Ojuelegba Road, in the Surulere Local Government Area of Lagos State.
Isaiah and Kato were attending to customers at the bar section of the hotel when an argument bordering on a Point of Sale transaction ensued between them.
During the argument, it was learnt that the two of them engaged in a shouting match and refused several entreaties by colleagues and customers to resolve their differences amicably.
However, the argument degenerated and the co-workers engaged each other in a scuffle that later involved the use of weapons, including broken bottles.
When Punch correspondent visited the crime scene on Monday, it was gathered from their colleague, who refused to disclose his name over the fear of losing his job, that when Isaiah and Kato started fighting, they initially did not make use of any weapon. Article continues after this Ads
The colleague explained that it was during the fight that they both fell on empty bottles which broke and injured them at different parts of their bodies.
He said,
“Both of them are from the same village. They were attending to customers when an argument started between them. I don’t know the cause of the argument that made both of them start engaging in a fight.
“As they were fighting, they both fell on empty bottles and the bottles broke. They continued fighting as they were rolling on the broken bottles and it pierced various parts of their bodies. “One of them sustained injuries in the neck and chest, and the other person also sustained injuries in the stomach and other parts of his body. But the one that sustained injuries in the neck and chest was rushed to hospital where doctors confirmed him dead.”
The colleague said the matter was reported at the Surulere Police Division, adding that Isaiah was handed over to the police for prosecution.
A yet-to-be-identified customer, Punch met at the pub alongside other customers, said the management of the hotel summoned an emergency meeting as a result of the events that claimed Kato’s life.
He said,
“As I speak with you, the general manager of the hotel came from another branch to this place to hold a meeting with workers at the hotel today. I witnessed the general manager blaming the workers for not even calling the security officials when both of them started fighting.
“This place is a very busy place at night because a lot of people usually come here to have fun. Some customers usually come to have drinks, while some visit to patronise prostitutes.”
However, a source in the hotel said the argument that degenerated into a fight between Isaiah and Kato was based on a dispute over a PoS transaction.
The source explained that no one anticipated that the fight would take a tragic turn, adding that the families of the duo who hailed from the same village had been contacted and were en route to Lagos State over the matter.
Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident.
He said,
“The command has commenced an investigation into the matter. Cultism is a menace we are tackling headlong.”
Reacting to the development, a Professor of Clinical Psychology, Lagos State University, Kayode Taiwo, said people must learn to be patient in the face of provocation.
He added,
“The stress in the workplace, environment and society is terrible. Imagine people fighting each other in a workplace. What does that tell us? Young adults and adults must learn how to keep their cool when they are angry. “The solution is that people must learn to be patient and when talking about patience, people think it is a gift from heaven, no. When you exercise your ability to think more rightly and you tell yourself to cool down when angry, many things will become clearer.
“When you are angry, you become emotionally worked up that normal reasoning takes flight. Incidentally, when you do something when you are angry, regret will set in.”
Cases of people refusing to embrace a peaceful approach to resolving their differences that most times led to arguments that degenerate into scuffles and unwarranted deaths are commonplace in Lagos State.
Sometime in March 2023, a woman, Annie Ofili, stabbed her friend, Glory Okon, to death at her residence on the Greenville Estate, Badore, in the Ajah area of the state.
Okon was said to have paid Ofili a visit at home and the two of them engaged in an argument that led to a scuffle and in the process, Okon stabbed her visitor to death.
In the same March, a Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting at Ebute-Metta, Lagos State, remanded three men, David Ife, Toyeeb Ayodele, and Kofoworola Famuyiwa, at a correctional centre for allegedly stabbing a man, David Obiale, 23, to death in the Abule Egba area of the state.
Similarly, in February 2023, a yet-to-be-identified soldier was accused of stabbing a ticket agent, Ibrahim Ikudaisi, aka Guardian, to death over arguments bordering on an N100 ticket in the Oshodi area of the state.
