The police in Kogi have arrested a 13-year-old boy, Yinusa Halilu, for
allegedly killing his friend and classmate, Mustapha Kazeem, 12, over a
damaged earpiece.
ACP Austin Evakhabokun, the Acting Commissioner of Police in Kogi, made this known to journalists on Monday in Lokoja.
Evakhabokun
said that a scuffle ensued between the suspect and the deceased, both
primary school pupils, when the suspect demanded the return of the
earpiece he lent to the deceased.
He said that the late Kazeem
said that the earpiece was damaged and Halilu demanded monetary
compensation for the damaged earphone.
He said that the demand
enraged the deceased who reportedly called the suspect a thief, adding
that this resulted in an exchange of hot words, as Halilu insisted on
collecting the money by force.
Evakhabokun said that Kazeem
became furious and rushed into the house, brought out a sharp cutlass
and inflicted cuts on the suspect’s head.
He said that the
suspect reportedly rushed to a nearby restaurant with his machete cuts
and picked a sharp knife, with which he stabbed the deceased in the
chest, leading to his death.
In an interview with newsmen, the
suspect said that he borrowed the telephone earpiece from someone,
saying that he insisted on replacing it since he did not know what to
tell the owner.
He said that Kazeem was his friend and that they were both in Primary Five.
Halilu
said that the deceased hit him on his head with a machete, adding that
in retaliation, he stabbed him in the chest, which led to his death.
Source:
Vanguard