A yet-to-be-identified soldier has allegedly stabbed a ticket agent, Ibrahim Ikudaisi, aka Guardian, to death over N100 ticket in the Oshodi area of Lagos State. It was gathered that Ikudaisi was visiting stores to demand N100 levy from different traders in a market in Oshodi when one of the traders refused to pay him.
It was reported that the trader’s refusal to pay Ikudaisi’s led to an argument and in the process, the soldier intervened to prevent the ticket agent from collecting the money from the trader.
The argument reportedly degenerated and in the process, the soldier brought out a knife and allegedly stabbed Ikudaisi in the chest.
An eyewitness, Adenike Ajayi at the scene of the incident said the impact of the attack made Ikudaisi fall to the ground, adding that the soldier took to his heels upon realising that the ticket agent had lost consciousness.
Ajayi said, “Ikudaisi is a popular person in this part of Oshodi. Everybody knows him and his nickname is ‘Guardian’. He is the one that collects daily ticket levies from all of us that are traders here.
“He was here yesterday (Tuesday) around 11am and we had all collected our daily tickets from him when he got into an argument with a lady who refused to pay for the ticket.
“As they were arguing, a soldier came and tried to force Ikudaisi to not let the lady pay for the daily N100 ticket. Suddenly, it got to a point that the soldier brought out his knife and stabbed Ikudaisi in the chest.”
Ajayi said the soldier fled to the Cantonment at Charity, where other soldiers came to his rescue, adding that Ikudaisi died due to the injuries he sustained during the attack.
“He was buried at his family compound in Lagos Island this morning. Army officers were around this place in the morning and they told us that they have arrested the soldier but we did not believe them because nobody was there to witness the arrest,” the trader said.
Another trader, Adeniji Olawole, said efforts by people in the market to apprehend the soldier proved abortive, adding that security agents were fond of perpetrating such injustice against the people in the market.
He said, “Though I was not around when the argument between Ikudaisi and the soldier started, I saw him after he was stabbed and lying in a pool of blood. Many people came out to help him while some others pursued the soldier when he ran away.
“Unfortunately, he was not caught because he ran into the cantonment and soldiers prevented those who ran after him from getting to him. In this Oshodi, police and army just beat and kill people for small matters that anger them. They should understand that we are also Nigerians like them. The death of Ikudaisi is a needless one. The soldier just wasted a precious life.”
An officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, who preferred to remain anonymous for security reasons, told our correspondent that when Ikudaisi was stabbed, some of his friends rushed him to the hospital as he gasped for breath.
