How N8,000 dispute led to Lagos market killing — Traders

More details have emerged about the violent clash that claimed the life of a trader, Sodiq Ibrahim, in the Mandillas area of Lagos Island on Wednesday.

Our correspondent gathered on Thursday that Ibrahim was allegedly stabbed to death by his colleague, Ebuka Adindu, during a dispute over the sharing of N8,000.

The incident briefly disrupted commercial activities in the busy Balogun market, with shops shutting their doors before business resumed on Thursday.

While rumours of ethnic tension trailed the clash on social media, the Lagos State Police Command dismissed such claims.

The police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, said, “During the fight, one Ebuka Adindu from Abia State stabbed one Sodiq Ibrahim from Kogi State to death.

“The said Adindu in turn stabbed himself on the shoulder and became unconscious. He is currently under arrest in the hospital, where he is being treated. Investigation into the matter will be concluded, and he will be prosecuted after he has been discharged.”

Thursday revealed that both men were members of a group known as Oso Ahia, loosely translated from Igbo as “market hustlers.”

Their role, our correspondent gathered, is to bring customers from outside into shops in exchange for a commission.

Trouble, however, began on Wednesday after a shop owner handed over N8,000 to be shared between the two.

A trader in the market, Funmi Arewa, confirmed this version of events to our correspondents on Thursday.

“It was just two hustlers who usually bring customers to shop owners for commission,” she said.

“Both of them happened to bring the same customer, and the shop owner gave them N8,000 to share. That’s where the problem started.

They began arguing over how to split the money, and in the middle of the fight, one of them stabbed the other. He probably didn’t mean to kill him, but sadly, the boy bled to death.”

Another trader, identified simply as Moshood, corroborated Arewa’s account. He dismissed suggestions that the clash was linked to tribal rivalry.

He said, “The fight started and ended with the Oso Ahia boys over the sharing of the commission.

“Some traders have now decided that the Oso Ahia boys should no longer be welcomed in this market. As you can see, there is no problem today.

“Everything has gone back to normal. There’s no tribal issue here. It was money that led to the dispute.”

Another trader, Abiola Shittu, further clarified that the temporary closure of shops on Thursday morning was due to the routine sanitation exercise, not the violence.

Shittu said, “It was the money that a customer gave them that led to the fight. What these guys do is take customers round the market, and in return, the customer tips them.

“The commission caused the argument, and they started stabbing themselves. Sadly, it was the Yoruba boy who died from the wound.”

Another trader, who identified himself only as Chigozie, also confirmed that the fight between Ibrahim and Adindu stemmed from a money dispute, not an ethnic clash as was being circulated on social media.

According to him, the altercation escalated quickly. “The deceased stabbed the guy first with a bottle and ran away thinking he couldn’t catch him.

“Then the guy immediately pursued him with a knife and did the same to him, which led to him bleeding and later dying,” Chigozie recounted.

Traders at the market said that Wednesday’s tragedy was the first violent incident in recent years in the market.