Though scaffolder, Onuh Thomas Stephen, who allegedly killed his colleague and friend, Anayo Francis, by stabbing him in the chest with a kitchen knife during a fight over a N7,000 unpaid loan, described himself as someone who does not engage in fights with people, he admitted to have taken a sniff of marijuana before the fisticuffs that led to his friend’s death.
Stephen was arrested by detectives from Sango Division in Ogun State Police Command for stabbing 23-year-old Francis to death because he (Francis) demanded the N7,000 the suspect borrowed from him. After repeated appeals to Stephen to pay him his money, Francis was reportedly infuriated when the suspect refused to do so even after he got his salary.
Sunday Tribune learnt that on the fateful day, Francis had information that Stephen had got his salary, so he went to him to ask for his money, but the suspect insisted he did not have money, resulting in a hot argument which led to a fight. The suspect who was occupying a single room reportedly went for a knife during the fight and stabbed Francis in the chest.
The police spokeswoman, SP Omolola Odutola, who confirmed the case, said the injured victim was rushed to a hospital but was later pronounced dead, leading to the arrest of the suspect.
Twenty-eight-year-old Stephen, an Idoma from Benue State, in an interview, told Sunday Tribune of how he came to Ogun State in January 2022 and started doing scaffolding work at a church in Ota.
Narrating what led to the stabbing of his friend and colleague, the suspect said: “My friend (Francis) was from Imo State. He was also into scaffolding. I gave him my certificate to get the job. He was brought to me by a friend I knew in Benue.
“My wife delivered our baby and I was short of money. I told Anayo to help me out and he lent me N7,000. I added money to pay N20,000 out of the N30,000 the hospital charged as a fee.
“After this, we could not get food to eat for over a month. There was no money from my workplace. Eventually, when I got money, I told Anayo to be patient with me as I owed many people more than N70,000, and he was my friend. I told him I would pay him when next I get money. This was discussed while we were at work.
“However, he left the office before me and went to my room, dragging the issue with my wife and asking if I was not back from work. When I returned home, my wife asked me about what happened between me and Francis that made him come to start banging on my door and asking for my whereabouts.
“Angry, I turned to Francis, asking him why he came to embarrass me because I was owing him. I told him that I did not collect any money after giving him my certificate and making photocopies for him to present for employment.
“Before I finished speaking, Francis charged at me and we started a fight. As we engaged in fisticuffs, I turned to take my kitchen knife and mistakenly stabbed him.
“When I saw him bleeding, it dawned on me that I had stabbed him. I quickly carried him and rushed him to General Hospital in Ota. There, I was told to get a police report. By the time I returned to the hospital with the police, I was told that Francis had died.
“Till now, I can’t just understand how this thing happened. My brain has yet to decipher how things got to that stage. I’m not someone used to having fights with people.”
The suspect, however, confessed to smoking marijuana, saying that he had taken a whiff before the fight with his friend
