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For refusing to sell razor blade to him, policeman attacked trader but got killed

MEIRAN, a serene but densely populated suburb of Lagos, has always been in the news, sometimes for positive reasons or the opposite. Residents said it had been quiet for a while, but penultimate weekend, the serene atmosphere of the community was once again shattered.

A frail looking trader was said to have stabbed to death a police constable attached to the Lagos State police command.

Saturday Tribune gathered that the incident occured in the early hours of Saturday, January 8, after the deceased, Constable Iradia Aomen, attached to the Meiran police division, was said to have signed off duty by 9:00p.m.

A police source at the station, who pleaded anonymity, relayed the incident that led to Aomen's untimely death. According to him, Aomen was on traffic duty the previous day after which he signed off and left the station. Unknown to his colleagues, the late police constable neither headed towards his house nor took time to remove his uniform. He was alleged to have gone to a nearby joint and kept himself busy with his favourite beer.

Saturday Tribune investigation further revealed that the late Aomen was a known customer at the joint and on that fateful day, he left the pub a few minutes after midnight and headed for the kiosk of a petty trader close to his station, identified as Suleiman Musa..

On his arrival at Musa's shop, the late Aomen was said to have asked the Mallam, as he was popularly called, to sell a razor blade to him.

Musa, at the time the constable got to his shop, was said to have locked up the shop, ready to go home. The police source told Saturday Tribune further that the trader, who was being assisted by his 12-year-old son, told the allegedly drunk policeman that he could not re-open his kiosk to sell the razor blade to him.

The policeman was said to have felt insulted that a 'bloody civilian' would refuse selling what he demanded to him. The late cop then insisted that Musa must sell the item to him. When it became clear that the late constable would not take a 'no' for an answer, Musa took his son, who stood watching the unfolding drama and headed towards the Gatankowa area, where their home is located.

The late constable was said to have pursued Musa and in no time caught up with him. A fight later ensued between the duo, while the policeman allegedly pushed Musa from behind, questioning the seller's effrontery to turn down his request.

Stretched to the limit of his patience, Musa allegedly stabbed the late policeman with a knife. Though residents of the area could have heard the bickering outside, no one came out to pacify the feuding parties.

"At first, the police patrol team that saw the two of them lying unconscious on the road thought they were armed robbers taking positions to attack them. But on a closer look, they realised that one of them was in police uniform and bleeding profusely. They then approached both of them and rushed them to a nearby private hospital. The hospital was said to have demanded N35, 000 for treatment," the police source stated further.

Further Investigations revealed that the doctor that attended to the duo expressed shock at the level of injuries they sustained. As fate would have it, Musa recovered after the doctor had treated his wound and administered some drugs on him. The policeman was not so lucky. Constable Aomen was pronounced dead around 2.00 p.m. The police source told Saturday Tribune that Musa was picked up after the policeman died and was detained at the Meiran Police Station before being transferred to the Lagos State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti street, Yaba.

Shortly after Aomen's death was announced, his relatives who were contacted at Ikorodu, Lagos, demanded to know the real cause of their son's death.

Speaking with Saturday Tribune, a civil servant identified simply as Wendy, whose house is close to the spot where the fight took place, said: "My wife and I were awake when the fight started. Initially, we thought that they were robbers. So we decided to sidon-look. Not until we heard the siren of the police van that we decided to come out to see what was actually happening. We saw the police carry the two of them into their vehicles motionless. It is unfortunate that the policeman did not make it at last." The suspect has been charged to court.