WOLE BALOGUN, Ado Ekiti
The police in Ekiti State have arrested three butchers for allegedly stabbing a barber, Ajibola Falegan, at a viewing center in Ado Ekiti.
The 33-year-old Falegan an indigene of Erinjiyan Ekiti in Ekiti West Local Government Area of the state, was allegedly attacked by the assailants at the viewing center on Nova road in Basiri area of Ado Ekiti on Wednesday evening.
The suspects are being detained at a police station located along new Iyin road, Ado Ekiti after they were arrested at 10.30pm on Wednesday.
Falegan, who is now receiving treatment at a private medical center in the state, had a deep cut in the head and body which were inflicted on him by the suspects with cutlasses and knives.
Narrating his ordeal to journalists on Thursday, Falegan said the suspects were having an altercation with a brother at the viewing center before he got there only for them to pounce on him upon sighting him.
He said he passed out when the attackers stabbed him in the head and body; he only regained consciousness when he arrived at the hospital.
Falegan added that the attackers allegedly stole his Techno L9+ phone worth N70,000 and N10,000 cash during the attack which he described as unwarranted.
“I didn’t have any misunderstanding with any of them before, but we live within the same vicinity.
“I got home around 9.30pm on Wednesday after closing from work and I learned my younger brother was still at the viewing center. So I went there to bring him home because it was already late.
“When I got there, they were having an argument with my brother but when I beckoned on him to follow me home, the boys started harassing me. They slapped me and caused a commotion in the area.
“Later, they started attacking me with cutlasses and knives which they hid under their dresses.
“The viewers at the center had to run for their lives. There was an uproar everywhere and when I ran to escape, they chased me and stabbed me until I fainted before they left.
“As they were doing this, my brother rushed home to intimate my wife and the two of them went to the police station to report that matter,” he stated.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti State command, DSP Caleb Ikechukwu, who confirmed the incident, said the command won’t tolerate any act of hooliganism and disruption of public peace by any individual or group.
He said the perpetrators had been arrested and would be charged to court after the investigations had been concluded.
“We are investigating the matter and if they turn out to be culpable, then the law will take its full course; they shall be brought to justice,” he said.