A man with hearing and speech impairment has been arrested by police in Lagos for allegedly killing a motorcyclist over N50 disagreement.
The suspect Sampson Sotimehin, 37, a labourer, allegedly committed the offence on October 24 at Finayon in Badagry.
It was gathered that Sotimehin had boarded a motorcycle ridden by one Daniel Gambo that afternoon from Limca and the bike broke down twice before they got to Finayon.
Although the suspect was said to have exercised patience the first time so that the motorcyclist could resolve the issue with his bike, it was gathered that when it broke down again, he opted to take another bike as he was in a haste.
His decision did not go down well with the motorcyclist who allegedly insisted that Sotimehin should at least pay half of the agreed N100 fare.
“The suspect refused to pay anything and started walking away. The okada man ran after him and held him. They started fighting. People around separated them and the deaf and dumb man continued his journey.
“The okada man was not satisfied still. He pulled his clothes and chased the man who had walked some metres away and they started fighting again. People again gathered and separated them. Since the other man could not talk nor hear, the okada man was asked to go his way so that peace will reign but he refused and chased the man yet again. That was how they started fighting again and the man pushed him.
“He fell down. He was rushed to hospital but he died later on,” said a source.
According to a police source, the suspect denied killing Gambo intentionally, adding that he only pushed him off after the motorcyclist bit his ear.
“We gave him pen and paper to write what happened. He wrote it down and anyone who read it can understand what he is saying. We wrote the question down and showed him. He then read it and wrote his reply.
“He said the motorcyclist attacked him and they were fighting. That each time people separated them, he would go his way but the motorcyclist would come after him. He said the motorcyclist even pulled his clothes and gave him fist blow.
“He wrote that the Okada man also bit him on the ear and he was bleeding. That was when he got angry and pushed him off. It is a sad case especially because the motorcyclist is not alive to state his side.
“The family of the deceased has been saying they do not want any case. That they want the body to be released and for the suspect to finance the burial. But we have told them it is not our job as policemen to broker any agreement for them because tomorrow they will turn around to blame us.
“Besides, a life is already involved and it is only normal that investigation is conducted, case charged to court, autopsy conducted and file forwarded to DPP for legal advice,” the source said.