Metro

Shop owner sends friend to early grave over N50 debt

Published

8 years ago

June 14, 2016

Machete wielding rapist kills pregnant wife, injures man, kids

A 29-year-old shop owner, Ekanem Enodan, is now cooling his heels in police custody after he allegedly stabbed his friend, Nicolas Goddonu, 46, over payment for N50 bottled water at the Oke-Ira area of Ogba, in Lagos.

Reports say Nicolas (a commercial motorcyclist) visited Ekanem’s shop with one of his brothers and took a bottle of water from his friends shop with eyewitnesses saying he hurriedly attempted to leave without paying his friend for what he bought.

It was reported that Nicolas was hit with a bottle by Ekanem as he attempted to flee in his motorcycle causing him to slump as the shop owner took his bottled water and went back to selling his wares.

Trouble started when an alarm was raised by the brother of the commercial motorcyclists when he realised that Nicolas was motionless and not breathing.

The father of five was later rushed to the Ifako General Hospital where he was confirmed dead but there are different accounts as to how Nicolas gave up the ghost.

Read also: Kogi judge kidnapped, orderly injured

While some say Nicolas was stabbed to death, others say he died as a result of hitting his head hard on a slab after he was pushed by Ekanem.

An eyewitness who knows both friends say they used to play a lot.

“The deceased and the suspects were friends. That was not the first time he would collect something from the shop and run away.

“But he usually paid later. At times, the shop owner would be chasing the motorcyclist and at other times he would forcefully drag whatever Goddunu collected from his shop.

“On that fateful day, the shop owner only pushed the okadaman in the chest, while attempting to collect the bottled water from him. He fell in the process and became unconscious.”

According to another eyewitness, Nicolas was hit in the chest by a fragment of a broken bottle thrown by Ekanem.

“The deceased was from Egun, while the suspect is from Cross River State. At about 11p.m., an argument which everybody concluded was their normal play, began.

“But we suspected that the okadaman was drunk. As he was leaving the shop with the bottled water, the shop owner threw an empty bottle of soft drink at him.

“The bottle hit the kiosk and shattered, with one of its broken parts hitting Nicolas in the chest. He fell and was confirmed dead in hospital.”

“He fell down and became unconscious. Later, we heard that he died at the hospital.”

Dolapo Badmus, spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command who confirmed the incident said; “On June 9, at about 1a.m., one Mitchonou Suru, 16, reported at Pen-Cinema Division that at about 10:50p.m. the previous day, one Nicolas Goddonu, 46, was hit with a bottle by one Ekanem Enodan, 29, of Baba Dada Estate, Opic, Ogun State, during a quarrel between them. “The victim was rushed to Ifako general hospital where he later died. Suspect was arrested and detained while the corpse was deposited at the hospital’s mortuary for autopsy.”

RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now