Tenant beats landlord over locked room in Abuja

ABUJA – A tenant, Musa Alhassan, allegedly assaulted his landlord, Samson Bako, in Pegi community, Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), after his room was locked due to unpaid rent.

The incident occurred at night when Alhassan, a commercial driver, returned from work and found his room padlocked by the landlord.

Speaking to journalists, Ishaku Ayuba, a resident of the area, said the tenant had refused to pay rent for over a year despite several reminders.

“The man is a commercial driver who has been staying in that compound for three years now. Since last year when his rent expired, he has refused to pay the landlord,” he said.

He explained that the landlord decided to lock the tenant’s room out of frustration.

“When the tenant had gone to work, the landlord used another padlock to lock up the room,” he added.

Ayuba said the incident escalated when Alhassan confronted the landlord’s son.

“The tenant walked straight and attempted to slap the landlord’s son. In the process, the landlord came out, and it resulted in a serious quarrel, and the tenant assaulted the landlord,” he said.

A member of the vigilante group, simply identified as Joshua, confirmed the incident, stating that they were alerted by residents and had to intervene.

We were immediately alerted and came to intervene. The tenant was later handed over to security personnel in the area,” he said.